Why Is Vince McMahon's Rebirth Of The XFL Doomed To Be Another Ex-FL?

3 Feb 2001: A rear view of Rod Smart #30 of the Las Vegas Outlaws walking on the field during the game against the New York/New Jersey Hitmen at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Outlaws defeated the Hitmen 19-0.Mandatory Credit: Todd Warshaw /Allsport

Vince McMahon is one of the most successful businessmen in the world of sports, but there is one glaring misstep on his resume that still haunts him almost two decades later. McMahon, Chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE),
is credited with building a billion dollar company, but he was also the co-founder of one the biggest failures in the history of American sports. In 2001, as a joint venture between WWF (as the WWE was previously known) and NBC, McMahon and former Chairman of NBC Sports Dick Ebersol formed the XFL. The XFL was a professional football league that promised to deliver a more violent, exciting and entertaining brand of professional football than the “No Fun League” (NFL). However, the XFL was shuttered after its inaugural season, with estimates that WWE and NBC were each rewarded with a $35 million loss for their efforts.
News broke in December that McMahon sold 3.34 million shares of WWE for approximately $100 million to help fund his new entity, Alpha Entertainment, LLC. One week before McMahon sold his shares, Alpha Entertainment filed for five U.S. trademarks related to the XFL, including “XFL” as a professional football league. These trademark applications were in addition to two additional applications for “XFL” filed by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in January and June 2017, and one application for “XFL” filed by WWE in September 2012 (for which a Statement of Use was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on January 24, 2018).
On January 25, 2018, McMahon announced that his second attempt at the XFL will debut in January 2020. McMahon is going to sink or swim on his own this time as he will be the sole funding source for the league. McMahon stated, “I wanted to do this since the day we stopped the other one.” McMahon continued, “A chance to do it with no partners, strictly funded by me, which would allow me to look in the mirror and say, ‘You were the one who screwed this up,’ or ‘You made this thing a success.”

McMahon will have to overcome the numerous missteps that caused the initial XFL to fail. For those who may have blinked during the three months that the XFL was on the field in 2001, the XFL featured eight teams located in Memphis, Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles, Birmingham, San Francisco, New York/New Jersey and Las Vegas. The XFL enjoyed a successful debut by generating a 9.5 television rating, however, what followed were Hindenburg-esque ratings of 4.6, 3.1, 2.6, 2.4, 1.6 and 1.5 from weeks 2-7. When television sitcom, Just Shoot Me, beats football in American television ratings by a factor of 20, something is most certainly amiss.
The factors that contributed to the failure of the XFL were numerous, but the league saw the seeds of its own destruction sown when it attempted to pander to wresting fans and football fans alike with gimmicky rules imposed upon the traditional game of football. Rather than appealing to both fan bases, their efforts alienated wrestling fans desiring more gladiatorial-style destruction and violence, while also driving away football purists who wanted a more traditional game of football. Furthermore, the XFL’s attempts to change the game of football only exasperated many of the length of game issues already seen in the NFL.

Additional reasons for the XFL becoming the Ex-FL were the poor quality of football being played, cameramen paying more attention to “cheerleaders” than the game, and how quickly the league was thrown together. First, while some players went on to play in the NFL, CFL and Arena Football League, the overwhelming majority of the league’s roster (especially towards the end of the season when the XFL’s meat grinder-style of play had decimated most teams) were second-tier talents. Second, with McMahon calling the shots and being a true believer of “sex sells,” cameras would frequently pan over to the “cheerleaders” during games—or into their locker room at halftime—creating a less than “family friendly” experience. Third, the league was thrown together at a frenetic pace. When McMahon announced the formation of the XFL in February 2000, “The league had no teams, no stadiums, no general managers, no coaches, no infrastructure other than Vince McMahon, himself” according to Charlie Ebersol, son of former XFL co-founder Dick Ebersol. Further complicating matters, McMahon announced the XFL would play its first game a mere twelve months later. The XFL held tryouts for four consecutive weekends beginning September 9, 2000, with training camps opening one month before the season kicked off. This truncated timetable led to coaches scrambling to find players that could compete at a professional level, players not fully grasping the rules, and conditioning issues that likely contributed to player injuries.
The new version of the XFL will start with eight teams playing a 10-week schedule, will feature 40 man rosters, and will have a two-hour game-time goal. Additionally, the league will not rely on gimmicks such as “cheerleaders” performing gentlemen’s club-inspired routines and other antics that contributed to the original XFL's demise after only one season. Players will be precluded from playing in the new XFL if they have any sort of criminal history. Moreover, players will not be permitted to use the XFL as a platform to take a personal stance on political or social issues while on the field. Those hoping that the XFL would reach out to NFL outcasts such as Colin Kaepernick, Johnny Manziel, Ray Rice or Greg Hardy will apparently have their hopes dashed. McMahon will take 2018 to set up a league infrastructure before forming teams in 2019, addressing one of the glaring missteps of the first XFL. Finally, McMahon does not have any plans to be visible during the games or with the XFL’s content, and there will be no crossover with the XFL and WWE talent.