The upstart XFL has filed for bankruptcy midway through its comeback season, a victim of COVID-19 and fan disinterest.
On Monday, the XFL’s parent company Alpha Entertainment LLC officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the state of Delaware. The filing listed both assets and liabilities in the $10m-$50m range with 1,000-5,000 creditors, including former NFL coach Kevin Gilbride and former players Winston Moss and Jim Zorn.
The filing was preceded last Friday by the XFL suspending its operations and laying off all staff, who were reportedly told they’d be paid through Sunday. The league thanked its fans, staff, television partners and players, some of whom hopefully made enough of an impression to warrant tryouts with some NFL clubs (assuming that season isn’t cancelled as well).
The XFL cancelled the rest of its 10-game season on March 20, having played only five games, but said at the time that it was looking forward to “playing full seasons for you – and with you – in 2021 and beyond.” Full-time staff were even kept on the payroll following the cancellation.
But the grim accounting of the overall economy apparently poked a hole in that hopeful balloon, leaving the league unable to handle “the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis.”
The filing indicates that XFL boss Vince McMahon owned 100% of the league’s Class A shares and 76.5% of the Class B shares, while McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment business owned the rest of the B shares. Originally, McMahon was reportedly prepared to backstop the XFL for at least two seasons but pandemics have a way of spoiling the best laid plans of mice, men and wrestling impresarios.
Early reviews of the XFL’s on-field product proved better than expected, but interest faded as the season progressed, with Week 5’s ratings falling by more than half from opening weekend. The XFL failed to match its previous incarnation in 2001, which made it through its first full season before hanging up its cleats.
The XFL broke new ground by becoming the first North American sports league to incorporate betting lines into game broadcasts and allowing play-by-play announcers to directly reference betting odds. The league signed betting partnerships with DraftKings and the Fox Bet joint venture of The Stars Group and Fox Sports, who hoped to ride this pony right into the hearts (and wallets) of XFL viewers/bettors.
