- The XFL and USFL also offered professional football in the spring
- Both leagues have failed to capture the imagination of most NFL fanatics
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Pro football’s spring lineup could soon look a little different as the XFL and USFL consider becoming one before the 2024 season.
According to an Axios report, the
If that happens, the respective leagues would be on equal footing in the union, with game broadcasts “likely” split between FOX and the XFL’s media partner, Disney.
The XFL and USFL may be looking for similar players, but there is no actual rivalry between the leagues.
It makes sense to move forward together in a partnership to bring a better product to market as an alternative to the NFL offseason.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s XFL could merge with the USFL as early as this week
The USFL and XFL aren’t exactly rivals, so a league merger makes sense
“We will not comment on rumors or speculation,” the XFL said in an email to Axios.
After the second iteration of the XFL, first launched in 2001, was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, Johnson and other business partners purchased the league over the summer for $15 million.
And although the league returned this year and lasted the entire season, it still has a long way to go before it is financially viable, with Forbes reporting that it lost an estimated $60 million in 2023.
According to Forbes, about a quarter of the league’s revenue comes from ESPN, which pays the league $20 million in TV rights.
The league was first created by WWE boss Vince McMahon in 2001, but only lasted one season.
The Rock’s involvement in the XFL is based on his own experiences playing football.
Johnson played at the University of Miami from 1990 to 1994 and dreamed of going to the NFL, but went undrafted before switching to wrestling.
“I needed the XFL because football wasn’t ending on my terms,” he said Forbes.
The XFL, according to a Forbes report. has lost an estimated $60 million through the 2023 season
“Football was the dream. “Football was the thing that allowed me to buy my parents their first house and buy my mom anything she wanted,” he continued.
“And when that didn’t happen, it fell apart for me. And there was something that became clear to me psychologically that I hadn’t dealt with.”
The USFL began in its first form in 1983 and existed as a rival until 1985 before folding. It returned in 2021, with the first season following the following year.
The Rock’s XFL “is in advanced discussions about a historic merger with the USFL,” which could see direct competitors combine as early as this year