What’s going on with the XFL? According to ESPN, “The league has laid off nearly all of its staff — a handful of executives remain employed – and currently has no plans to return in 2021.”
The XFL only played five out of ten games in a season due to the coronavirus. According to ESPN, “The XFL is the second spring football league in as many years to suspend operations before completing its first and final season, albeit for many different reasons. The Alliance of American Football (AAF) ran out of money in 2019 and closed after eight weeks of play. The XFL might be the first pro sports league to fall victim to the economic crisis caused by the global pandemic.”
On the bright side, the league has helped players reveal their talents to the NFL such as PJ Walker, who signed with the Carolina Panthers and played for the Houston Roughnecks. They had over a thousand yards passing and fifteen touchdown passes. There’s also Jordan Ta’amu who signed to the Kansas City Chiefs. He passed over a thousand yards and had a completion rate of 72% for the St. Louis Battlehawks. Another player who signed was a Roughnecks player, Deatrick Nichols, who led the XFL in interceptions this past season. He signed with the Saints.
One college athlete who joined the St. Louis BattleHawks, Kenny Robinson, dropped out of West Virginia due to academic issues. According to the article, Kenny Robinson turned to the XFL to help his mom. Now he’s eyeing the NFL Draft, “Robinson decided to play in the XFL, becoming the first player with college eligibility remaining to join the new league. Robinson’s mother was diagnosed with cancer, and he says that ultimately is what made him want to go pro rather than return to college for his junior season.” The NFL scouts expect him to go in the fifth round or six-round of the NFL draft. According to Bleacher Report, “Rounds 5, 6, and 7 made up 16.7% of the 28.2% total.” The chances of making it on to an NFL roster are very slim, but that is off of data. There are only 50 people each that can be in an NFL roster for the 32 teams. Tom Brady was in the sixth round and look at him now; he is still in the NFL playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaving the New England Patriots who helped him win six Super Bowls.
The XFL has helped some players get a chance with the NFL, but many other players don’t have a job anymore. The city of St. Louis alone has had an XFL team and NFL team which lost a lot of money. According to Benne, “We’ll never really know what the enthralling STL-Battlehawks partnership would have looked like in, say, five years. But for now, let’s take a time to appreciate what we had in the Battlehawks — a blast of freshness and fun. They arrived in the right city at the right time.”
Although many fans will miss the XFL, it was exciting to start a league that many never thought would exist. Fans and players alike were able to have more of something that they love: the amazing game of football.
