Report: The Rock And RedBird Capital Buy The XFL

Back on April 13, the XFL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The revived American football league ran for five weeks and was praised by many for some of its innovations to the sport, but the season was ultimately cancelled because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The XFL and its assets were set to be auctioned off later this week, but an auction has seemingly been avoided as Scott Soshnick at Sportico reported earlier today that a consortium which includes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and RedBird Capital has purchased the bankrupt league. 

The league's assets and liabilities were valued at between $10 million and $50 million in its bankruptcy filing and a deal of $15 million was agreed. 

Whether or not the XFL makes a comeback remains to be seen and will ultimately depend on the league's TV contracts. The XFL's TV deals were set to be transferred during the league's purchase, but Daniel Kaplan at The Athletic reported last week that both ESPN and FOX were looking to renegotiate their contracts as Alpha Entertainment, the league's parent company, will no longer be involved.