XFL
The bar for success was set pretty low when the XFL announced its plans to come back from the dead close to 20 years after the league tried (and failed) to take on the NFL in 2001 during what ended up being its first and only season.
Things seemed to get off to a pretty solid start when XFL 2.0 officially kicked off in February of 2020. Plenty of people were intrigued by in-game interviews and other fairly unconventional aspects of the broadcast, and some of the unconventional rule changes that were instituted had some serious potential.
Unfortunately, the XFL (like every other sports league on the planet) was no match for the pandemic that forced it to permanently cease operations just two months after it made its grand return. However, the seemingly cursed nature of the organization didn’t stop a group of investors including Dwayne Johnson from purchasing its remaining assets in a fire sale in the hopes the third time will be the charm.
The new owners started to make moves this year as they gear up for yet another reboot that’s currently slated for next February. In April, the league released a new logo (which looked very similar to the one gracing cans of Axe body spray and another for a company co-founded by Sue Bird and Alex Morgan), unveiled the head coaches who will be patrolling the sidelines for its eight teams, and flexed on the USFL with the list of accommodations it will be offering to players.
In May, the XFL 3.0. also landed a TV deal that ensures all of its games will be aired on either ABC, ESPN, or FX. As a result, it seems like its most pressing issue currently is giving people a reason to watch them, and there’s no better way to do that than landing some notable names.
The league managed to do exactly that on Tuesday night when former NFL punter and fan favorite Marquette King committed to the upcoming XFL Draft, which is currently scheduled to take place in November (King also played five games for the St. Louis Battlehawks before the league shut down in 2020).
Had to make sure I was in the right state of mind before I committed to this. I’m all IN! @XFL2023 😤 pic.twitter.com/44v7hYy2E1
— Marquette King (@MarquetteKing) August 9, 2022
There’s little doubt the XFL is relying on other ex-NFLers to follow in King’s footsteps.
One of the biggest issues with the relaunch in 2020 was the lack of marquee players—Tim Tebow reportedly toyed with the idea of joining and Colin Kaepernick was also on the league’s radar before his hefty contract demands took him out of consideration—but you have to imagine the people overseeing the newest iteration are hoping to lure some similarly eye-catching names before things kick off.
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