In a statement, Johnson, 48, provided a look of the McMahon-like style he could bring to the league.
” The acquisition of the XFL with my gifted partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is a financial investment for me thats rooted deeply in 2 things– my enthusiasm for the game and my desire to always look after the fans,” stated Johnson, who played football at the University of Miami from 1990 to 1994. “With pride and thankfulness for all that Ive built with my own 2 hands, I plan to use these callouses to the XFL and eagerly anticipate creating something unique for the players, fans and everybody involved for the love of football.”
In a statement, XFL president and chief operating officer Jeffrey Pollack called the pending sale “a Hollywood ending” and said Johnsons investors are “an all-star team ownership group and the XFL remains in the very best possible hands moving forward.”
Cardinale is the managing partner and CEO of RedBird, which manages more than $4 billion in properties. Recently, it bought a controlling interest in Toulouse Football Club, a French soccer group. In November, it invested $125 million in a brand-new company that protects commercial rights for the NFL.
Organizational prepare for the newest version of the XFL are not yet clear. McMahon fired XFL commissioner Oliver Luck on April 9, and Luck reacted by taking legal action against McMahon for wrongful termination and is looking for $23.8 million. The claim was on hold waiting for the results of insolvency.
The league balanced 1.9 million tv viewers per game and generated almost $20 million in gross earnings in 2020, according to court filings. It had actually predicted $46 million in gross revenues for the 10-game season, each information point surpassing internal expectations, according to sources.
XFL owner Vince McMahon had been a figured out aspirant, investing $200 million in the leagues 2nd incarnation, one that assured to “reimagine” the game. Organizational strategies for the most recent variation of the XFL are not yet clear. McMahon fired XFL commissioner Oliver Luck on April 9, and Luck responded by taking legal action against McMahon for wrongful termination and is looking for $23.8 million.
A group consisting of star and former WWE star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has consented to acquire the XFL for around $15 million, according to a news release provided Monday morning.
The XFL stated Chapter 11 insolvency April 13 and has been looking for a purchaser for the previous 3 months, marketing itself as a made-for-TV item that might transition as early as 2021 to a bubble principle throughout the coronavirus pandemic. It is uncertain when Johnson and his financiers– who include his company partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia, along with RedBird Capital Partners– strategy to revive the league.
The league has actually two times shuttered after one season– first in 2001, then earlier this year as an outcome of the pandemic– and there hasnt been a long-term alternative football league considering that the AFL required a merger with the NFL in 1970. XFL owner Vince McMahon had been a determined candidate, investing $200 million in the leagues 2nd incarnation, one that promised to “reimagine” the video game. Its 8 teams suspended play after 5 weeks, and the league laid off practically all its workforce April 10.
McMahon thought about bidding on the XFL himself early in the personal bankruptcy procedure however ultimately chosen against it.