As the final XFL team president hired this year, Grady Raskin faces a two-pronged challenge: lead the multifaceted construction of one of eight teams in the new spring football league, and do it by playing catchup.
Raskin, who was vice president of corporate partnerships for the NHL’s Dallas Stars before being named president of the Dallas Renegades XFL franchise on June 27, knows no blueprint exists for how to build a successful spring football league franchise. Instead, there are plenty of cautionary tales of leagues that folded because of funding and mismanagement. So he and other teams’ executives in this second incarnation of WWE Chairman Vince McMahon’s XFL — his 2001 league lasted just one season — have an instructive road map.
Grady Raskin also had a long stint with the Texas Rangers.Courtesy of XFL
“We are pulling from everywhere,” said Raskin, a Dallas native. “So while I’ve been playing catchup and it’s been crazy, I’m also in a market that I’ve been in my entire life. All the team presidents have roots where they are. I think that’s a must. You immediately gain the relationships in town. I just don’t think it would have worked without all of us having roots.”
The XFL’s hope is that a two-year leadup to its launch on Feb. 8, 2020 — the league consists of a 10-game schedule followed by two semifinals and a championship game — will help avoid some of the pitfalls that crippled other aspiring spring football leagues. The focus for McMahon’s league, which he plans to personally fund, is family friendly, fun and football, with innovation and a community connection serving as constant themes.
“It’s been pleasantly easy to work because everything has been so thought out,” said Bob Stoops, the longtime Oklahoma coach who is now the Renegades coach and general manager. Stoops pinpointed the XFL’s TV deal with ESPN, ABC and Fox as critical. “You can take things from leagues that have not worked.”
In an attempt to beat the XFL to the starting gate, the launch of the Alliance of American Football earlier this year lasted just eight weeks into its regular-season schedule before funding dried up. It filed for bankruptcy in April with $11.3 million in assets and liabilities of $48.3 million.
Former Dallas Cowboys Pro Bowl fullback Daryl Johnston, now the Renegades’ director of player personnel, worked on the staff for the AAF’s San Antonio franchise. He sees a stark contrast in the planning and construction of the AAF and XFL, both of which announced their formation in early 2018.
“Because we were trying to do it in less than a year [with the AAF], at times we were beyond urgency and almost to the point of panic,” Johnston said. “This has been much more methodical. It’s been a nice pace.”
Oliver Luck, the XFL commissioner, has said there will be layers of player compensation, with the bulk of players earning around $60,000. While players were allocated to teams in the AAF, the XFL will stage a draft in October.
Coaching staffs have been in the process of scouting hundreds of prospects, some who may be cut from NFL rosters and others at XFL showcase events hosted by each team. Bob Morris, the Renegades’ manager of analytics and scouting, said the XFL headquarters in Stamford, Conn., has been efficient in providing teams with additional scouting reports and measurables — heights, weights, 40 times, etc. — on hundreds of players.
“This is a group project to begin with,” Morris said. “It’s a collaborative effort.”
At least until games begin, there is a unified front among teams. From a league and team standpoint, myriad tasks remain: securing sponsors, selling tickets, discussing potential XFL apps. For team executives, the horizon is both exciting and challenging.
“I can’t even begin to explain the feelings that I have inside me,” Raskin said. “The overwhelming nature of what we’re doing is pacified by the fact that we can’t wait for what’s next. Yes, it’s daunting and overwhelming, but we’re ready for the task.”
