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XFL Optimistic In Establishing Successful Spring Football League

Financial backing is part of what separates the XFL from other previous spring leagues

The XFL's debut this weekend represents the latest attempt to "establish a popular, profitable spring football league," but after last year's "failed Alliance of American Football experiment, the most pressing storyline will be ... whether the league can last," according to Adam Zielonka of the WASHINGTON TIMES. The league's players, coaches and execs are being portrayed as an "optimistic group of men confident that the XFL won't meet the same fate as the AAF, which folded several weeks shy of the end of its first season" in '19 due to financial trouble. As a business, the XFL on first glance looks "similar to the failed AAF." It is an eight-team league starting play "right after the Super Bowl with some high-profile coaches and executives from the NFL and college football." The XFL also has a "single-entity ownership structure." However, the "primary difference appears to be financial." The AAF shut down after Tom Dundon opted not to put $250M into "keeping the league afloat." However, XFL Founder Vince McMahon has indicated that he is "willing to spend" as much as $500M on the league. Meanwhile, the XFL has "all the familiar trappings of pro football" -- Gatorade, A-B InBev and FanDuel "recently signed on as official sponsors," while every game will be on either ABC, ESPN, Fox or FS1 (WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/7). THE RINGER's Danny Heifetz noted because the league is run by McMahon, it is in theory "backed by actual money and will not scam employees midseason" (THERINGER.com, 2/6).

MONEY MARKS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE: ESPN's Kevin Seifert noted the financial commitment made by McMahon marks the biggest difference "about the XFL compared to really any other alternative league that has tried to come up." Seifert said, "It doesn't mean that he is going to spend it all or he should spend it all or that he couldn't pull it back at any time. But it's an important first step to actually have real money behind a league. That gives them some confidence that if they make some progress each year that they'll have multiple years to develop a product." He added a realistic barometer of success for the XFL "would be that they get through a 10-game season, and at the end of the season, people can look back and say, 'That was actually a really cool, fun brand of football'" ("ESPN Daily," ESPN.com, 2/7).

CAN THEY CONVERT FANS? In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel notes the gimmicks present in the XFL's first run in '01 "have been downplayed," as the "focus is on the football." The "only question is whether spring football can finally breakthrough." The XFL has said that it is "fully funded for three seasons," and no spring league outside NFL Europe has "ever been funded by so much wealth." But the XFL "wants to see a return, and positive momentum," by '22. McMahon is "not doing this again as a vanity project." WWE "hired a firm to conduct an extensive study to determine if spring football is a viable investment." McMahon found through research that people "want more football," though it is unknown "if that simply means people just want NCAA or NFL football" (Ft. Worth STAR-TELEGRAM, 2/7). NPR's Jordan Pascale writes the biggest question is "whether the league can turn football fans into XFL fans." Most pro and college teams "trade on years of tradition or deep roots in a community." Samford Univ. Center for Sports Analytics Exec Dir Darin White noted that the XFL "will have to build that" (NPR.org, 2/7).

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY: The GUARDIAN's Tom Dart writes one of the "biggest gambles" the XFL is taking is that cities with NFL teams "have an appetite for more football." St. Louis is the only market that has an XFL team and not an NFL team. ESPN Radio 101 St. Louis host Randy Karraker said, "I do think it can be a local hit. The fact that we don't have an NFL team here benefits the BattleHawks" (GUARDIAN, 2/7). In N.Y., Victor Mather noted the XFL has "opted for big stadiums for its games." Despite the possibility of empty seats, XFL President & COO Jeffrey Pollack said, "We're playing in eight cities that have a love of football. We want to be in big markets with world-class venues" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/6).

XFL TEAMS/VENUES
TEAM
VENUE
Dallas Renegades
Globe Life Park
DC Defenders
Audi Field
Houston Roughnecks
TDECU Stadium
L.A. Wildcats
Dignity Health Sports Park
N.Y. Guardians
MetLife Stadium
St. Louis BattleHawks
The Dome at America's Center
Seattle Dragons
CenturyLink Field
Tampa Bay Vipers
Raymond James Stadium
Download the
XFL

ALL ABOUT THE RIGHT PARTNERS: ESPN's Steve Levy, who will call XFL games for the net, said that he "believes the XFL will stay more relevant" by partnering with ESPN and Fox. He said, "I would be surprised if there aren't at least two seasons of this XFL. Vince has deeper pockets than what the AAF had, television partners that were different than the AAF's. They were pushed to other CBS cable channels." He noted ESPN is devoting "big-time resources" to its coverage. Levy: "Maybe not 'Monday Night Football' resources, but pretty close. We are treating this like a first-class operation." He added, "We've seen that over the years. When ESPN has the rights to whatever it is, it tends to play a little heavier, a little higher on 'SportsCenter.' It's good business, it's good promotion" (N.Y. POST, 2/7). XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck said, "I don't think there's ever been a league that's started with the visibility television-wide that we have with two great partners" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 2/5).

A MORE UP-TEMPO GAME: In DC, Les Carpenter notes the XFL is "marketing itself as a much faster version of the NFL with a stated intention to play games in under three hours." In order to do that, it has "changed several NFL rules and added a continuous clock that won't stop for incomplete passes or plays that go out of bounds except inside the final two minutes of each half" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/7). In Tampa, Eduardo Encina notes another new XFL rule to "improve the pace of play" is a 25-second play clock -- "compared to the NFL's 40 seconds." The XFL's "innovations will mean less time in the huddle, more action" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 2/7). Luck said, "We'll have a fast-paced, up-tempo game, just a lot of action. It's almost as if you were watching a three-hour two-minute drill because we really think our teams are going to be playing fast" ("Get Up," ESPN, 2/5).

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