Why didnt the xfl work

Reading the Chapter 11 bankruptcy document is a fascinating insight into the XFL read it here. That is a chunky investment to say the least. On 15th March, the league announced that a player for the Seattle Dragons had actually tested positive for COVID and five days later the league season was cancelled. XFL statement pic. There is a breakdown of ownership with WWE listed in control of Attached are the top eight creditors. There are between 1, — 5, creditors, including the biggest one being the St.

Only Pep Hamilton, coach of the now former D. Defenders was not listed as a creditor within the document. While XFL 2. Then an injured player halted the game for 14 minutes. All of this delayed "Saturday Night Live" until Jennifer Lopez was the host that week, and Lorne Michaels was livid. Doubts at this point began to bubble through the network. We are absolutely committed to it for the full season. By February 28, ratings were in free fall. Still, NBC said it was committed to not just finishing the season, but a second season, as well.

It was delaying the inevitable. Within eight weeks, the league broke the record for the lowest prime-time ratings for a major broadcast network. It got a 1. By March 17, it was all over. In the last 10 days, people began to abandon ship. The XFL lasted only 12 weeks. According to GQ, the most frequently cited reason for XFL's failure was that the quality of play "sucked.

Looking back, McMahon didn't blame the media. Even when it got reviews like "bad football, bad lines and an overdose of political incorrectness," from the Chicago Tribune. He did regret failing to make it clear that it was football and not entertainment. He also regretted failing to give players enough time to practice. But the organizers weren't too despondent. Ebersol told the Los Angeles Times, "Strange as it may seem to hear, this was one of the most fun experiences of my life. It used sky cams widely, recorded the sound of impact as players collided, and showed fans the mood in the locker room — all features of NFL games today.

And now, somehow, it's coming back — this time without the cheerleaders. McMahon also made it clear that politics or social issues aren't welcome. When he first announced the return of the XFL in , he said all players would have to stand for the national anthem, and no player who had been arrested would be allowed to play.

The first game is scheduled for February 8, the weekend after the Super Bowl. Training is well underway. Loading Something is loading. Luck and director of football operations Sam Schwartzstein conceived and applied a series of innovations they hoped would recast football for the next generation. XFL games were about 15 minutes quicker than NFL contests, and rules designed to maximize kickoffs and improve point-after attempts proved popular.

In February, members of the NFL competition committee said they were intrigued by the league's innovations and planned to study them closer. But the overall quality of play was uneven. The league did not pursue star players, a decision it signaled when it made journeyman NFL quarterback Landry Jones its first signing, and the QBs it assembled had a wide disparity in skills.

Could the league have built an enduring fan base, and supported a profitable enterprise, with a plan built around the game rather than the players? That was its play, but barring an unexpected development, we'll never know. XFL broadcasts featured sideline interviews with players and coaches. They regularly aired conversations between officials on the field, as well as replay officials who were deciding whether to overturn or uphold calls. It made for interesting television, but it worked in part because there had never been another paradigm in the XFL.

Does the NFL need to make their players available for interviews on the bench? Would it want its officials' process broadcast in real time? I don't think so. Its plan was to "embrace the spread," authorizing its broadcasters to openly discuss and display gambling activities, and it knew it could appeal to growth segments of the sports industry simply by not standing in the way of a gambling connection.

Players have been free to sign with the NFL since March 23, and dozens already have. The league's breakout player, quarterback P.

Walker , joined the Carolina Panthers to back up new starter Teddy Bridgewater. Coaches would also be free to pursue new opportunities.

It's hard to imagine someone will try it anytime soon, if for no other reason than the likelihood of an extended economic downturn. It seems someone forgot to put gas in the generators, knocking an entire professional sports game off the air. Luckily NBC had a secondary, though much less exciting game to switch to while they figured it out.

However, the power outage also caused an already competitive game to run long. Sixth, the ratings continued to spiral down right after the first game was played.

Unfortunately, when week two started, the quality of the games kept on degrading and the league seemed more like professional wrestling than it did football. Finally, the Million Dollar Game that become a huge disaster. It was played before a stadium nowhere near sold out and a TV audience that continued to nosedive.