'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What’s the story?
Almost six months ago, Vince McMahon shocked the world by announcing that XFL will be revived following an ESPN 30 for 30 show on the defunct football league.
Well, while reports had first suggested Mr. McMahon would be pumping $100 million into the brand, it has now been revealed that the accurate figure is actually $500 million!
In case you didn’t know…
In January, WWE majority owner, CEO and Chairman McMahon revealed that his new company, Alpha Entertainment, will be funding the return of the XFL - a pro-football league that ran for a single season in 2001 before its closure.
The return of the XFL is scheduled for 2020 and the pro-football league will hire experts to administer its proceedings, with him simply assuming the role of owner and operator - a huge change from the 2001 version of XFL, where McMahon managed the entire league himself.
The heart of the matter
ESPN's Darren Rovell revealed on social media that McMahon will commit $500 million to XFL rather than the $100 million initially reported.
Rovell's article for ESPN has the following quote from XFL CEO and commissioner Oliver Luck:
"People were focused on the $100 million, but the truth is that doesn't even get us to the 20-yard line."
The CEO accepted the job on June 5 but starts at his office across the street from WWE's headquarters in Stamford on Monday. the article goes on to confirm that Luck believes the biggest cost will be the salaries to pay players and coaches.
Luck said the average salary for the 40-man rosters will hover around $75,000, with players that are more in demand making much more than that - significantly more than the $45,000 average from 2001 for a 10-week schedule.
Luck said another significant cost is insurance to cover player injury, confirming one of Vince McMahon's first moves was to secure an insurance policy for the league.
"I've been at all levels of football and the importance of a broad-based insurance program cannot be understated. There are very few participants who underwrite for this market anymore and it is obviously costly."
Luck didn't say how much coverage the league will have but did say that the insurance premiums will come to more than $10 million a year.
What’s next?
Well, the XFL is scheduled for a 2020 start, but the wheels are well and truly in motion to get the framework in place to make that a possibility.
The XFL won't just have competition in the NFL though as shortly after McMahon announced the revival of the league, Charlie Ebersol, director of the ESPN 30 for 30 films on the XFL, announced the launch of another professional football league - The Alliance of American Football.
We'll keep you updated with more as and when we get it.
What do you think about the return of the XFL? let us know in the comments.
