After months of waiting, layoffs, rumors and pessimistic dreaming, the XFL was officially bought for $15 million by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital.
The sale occurred just hours before the bankruptcy auction was to begin on Monday afternoon. Johnson and Garcia will be equal stakeholders in the league, which will be the first professional sports league to be owned solely by people of color.
The XFL originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April after COVID-19 shut down their season and they were unable to continue operations.
After two failed attempts with former owner Vince McMahon, the XFL and its fans should be excited at the prospect of the XFL returning in 2021 under the ownership of Dany Garcia and The Rock.
Johnson has had football ties since his days playing at the University of Miami from 1990-94, which has led him all the way to owning his own football league.
“With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our XFL brand,” said Johnson on Twitter.
With my trail blazing partner @DanyGarciaCo & Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL.
With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our @xfl2020 brand.
Excited to create something special for the fans! #XFL #fullcircle pic.twitter.com/LprJ6HjglD— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 3, 2020
XFL President Jeffrey Pollack, who oversaw the sale of the league since the exit of former Commissioner Oliver Luck, was very pleased with the outcome of the sale.
“Dwayne and Dany are a dream team ownership group and the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward,” said Pollack.
Pollack also called this outcome “a Hollywood ending” for a league that has tried and failed twice since 2001 to create a unique football experience.
With the XFL being so successful in their short time in 2020, the hope is that the new ownership group will be able to bring back some of the same employees, which is a sentiment that has been echoed by former employees themselves.
Could I get my job back? 👉🏻👈🏻 @TheRock https://t.co/t79GZi08xD
— Jake Harris (@JakeHarris33) August 3, 2020
The prospect of the league returning even has some established media personalities interested in getting involved now that The Rock is in charge.
Do what others would not do @TheRock… You know who to put in the booth pic.twitter.com/odIv4gyuHB
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 3, 2020
No matter what happens, the XFL is poised to make a return as soon as possible. With the sale to be confirmed on Aug. 7 and closed by Aug. 21, fans should know sooner rather than later what the league could look like in 2021 and beyond.
