For the second time, the XFL might be dead.
As ESPN reports, the league laid off nearly all of its employees, suspended all of its operations for the 2020 season, and has no plans to return in 2021.
If this marks the end of the league, it would be the second time Vince McMahon had a pro football league called the XFL that folded after one season of play. The first time it happened was 2001.
There are a couple of lessons that can be taken from the league’s failure. One major one is it’s hard to see anyone trying to start a new pro football league again anytime soon.
Football is a tough market to serve when there are already a few leagues offering something unique in North America. The NFL offers the top talent in the world in 11-man football. NCAA football, although not pro, has major TV contracts, gives fans a preview of some of those future NFL standouts, and is a longstanding tradition. Whether it’s Army and Navy running the ball nearly every play or Joe Burrow throwing for 60 touchdowns in 15 games, there are different styles of football to watch.
Even the Canadian Football League is 12-man football and exists in a country that does not have any NFL teams. And before the Arena Football League, founded in 1987, folded last October, they played seven-man football. In both cases, the number of players on the field was just one of many major rule differences when compared to the NFL.
Other than the American Football League (1960-1969), which eventually merged with the NFL, second-tier leagues tapping into the same market have not been successful. Look at how the United States Football League, the original XFL, the United Football League, the Fall Experimental Football League, and the Alliance of American Football all fared. None panned out.
Just ask President Trump. He owned the New Jersey Generals in the USFL, and the team is up there with Trump steaks, Trump University, and GoTrump.com as one of his more unsuccessful business ventures.
Some would argue that the new, now-defunct XFL did not get a fair shot because of the coronavirus pandemic, and those people have a point. Surely, McMahon and his ilk have no control over viruses spreading from China. However, the fact remains that the league did not last — and it might not be the only pro sports league or team to falter as a result of this pandemic.
Earlier this year, there was talk of the MLB eliminating 42 minor league teams to save money. A 162-game season will not happen this year, so they will be out revenue. As Baseball America pointed out last month, minor league teams operate on thin margins and are bound to result in many teams folding. And the Athletic noted that the pandemic may result in financial hardship for independent baseball leagues, which are not big-money operations. Some of those teams play in taxpayer-funded stadiums, so this would further highlight how they are poor investments and provide zero jobs in a pandemic.
Starting up a pro sports league is a risk that oftentimes does not work out. In both cases, the XFL represents the unsuccessful side of professional sports ventures.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a freelance writer who has been published with USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other media outlets.
