Pour one out for the XFL. The league is reportedly done.

[RobbRiddick]

Who'd have thought the AAF would have bragging rights over who lasted longer

[YoloinOhio]

?

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

4 hours ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

I'm on it.

 

He looks like he's answering the phone in a scene from 'Police Squad!'.

[Rocky Landing]

Does this mean my #2 Jalen McClendon LA Wildcats jersey is worth more money, or less?

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, cba fan said:

very very few UDFA make an impact in NFL. All the others their football careers are then over. If they had an outlet to continue to develop they could have a chance. Not a great on but a chance that is now otherwise dead.

 

Many good NFL players came out of USFL when it folded. And NFL Europe developed a bunch of NFL roster players of which gave Bills Fred Jackson.

 

The vast majority of these XFL players are worse than UDFAs.   You can not even begin to compare the XFL to the USFL or even NFL Europe!  
 

The USFL was actual NFL competition- so they signed many star level players - so of course when they folded there were many players that were NFL caliber and ready to start.

 

NFL Europe was designed by the NFL before the PS and it was filled with NFL players that were young or developing - so again it made sense that many more would come out of that.  
 

The XFL was filled with guys that were below practice squad level players - it is more comparable to the Old Arena League that would occasionally have a player make it.

 

The only way an off time league is going to be successful (as the AAF figured out) is if they are associated with the NFLPA and can bring in back-up and PS level players to grow and that they are funded by NFL pockets.  If not the level of players is just not going to be good enough to make a dent.  
 

There was several good things about an innovative 2nd league, but without NFL support it is not going to be a success.  I enjoyed a few games and love talking about the players, but many of the stars were guys that could not even stick as PS level NFL players.  
 

Edited April 10, 2020 by Rochesterfan

[Mr. WEO]

This no doubt comes as a surprise to many here.

 

 

This was the most obvious outcome.  Fools and their money are soon parted.  It was always doomed.  People stopped watching by week 5.  I bet the networks told MCMahon:”this is a disaster.  We would never buy rights for this. There’s no audience”.

 

America is completely uninterested in non NFL football.  It’s been proven over and over and over...

[Uncle Joe]

I not wasting any pours. We got the NFL draft coming up. ?

[BuffaloBills1998]

I figured this was going to happen, I tried watching it a couple times and I just couldn’t get into it. It’s WWF in football lol. Half the ***** like the WWF felt scripted. All the QBs they had were garbage. I just didn’t see how McMahon or anyone else in that department thought that this could compete with the NFL

[Rocky Landing]

12 minutes ago, BuffaloBills1998 said:

I figured this was going to happen, I tried watching it a couple times and I just couldn’t get into it. It’s WWF in football lol. Half the ***** like the WWF felt scripted. All the QBs they had were garbage. I just didn’t see how McMahon or anyone else in that department thought that this could compete with the NFL

I think it was less a question of competing, and more a strategy of riding the NFL's coattails.

[Reed83HOF]

4 hours ago, Rico said:

I'll wait for Doug Whaley to confirm.

He is too busy drinking Bleach

[Hardhatharry]

5 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

And the NFL holds supreme... Just can't beat the best talent.

[TN-Bills]

Went to all the AAF Memphis Express home games and the XFL St. Louis Battlehawks home opener. It was fun while it lasted.

Edited April 10, 2020 by TN-Bills
Left a word out

[tcampbell104]

7 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

McMahon really needs to give up on this idea of running a football league and focus on making pro wrestling great again(doubt it ever happens)

when was pro wrestling ever great?

[BillsPride12]

1 minute ago, tcampbell104 said:

when was pro wrestling ever great?

Late 80s-early 90s...Late 90s

[PromoTheRobot]

6 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

The XFL is completely divorced from the WWE as its own entity. So I don't think that the WWE stock was much of an impact. I think Vince just looked at the money he would have to burn through in order to keep the league's infrastructure in place and the possibility of keeping it on TV and passed. Sad as they did a much better job this time around. 

 

Seriously? You really believe how WWE had no effect on pulling the plug on the XFL? WWE was Vince McMahon's money printing press. It's what made the idea of funding XFL for three years doable.

[stuvian]

were it not for the pandemic I think it would have gained some ground. Anything to see that smug smile wiped off Goodell's face

[Don Otreply]

8 hours ago, Bangarang said:

The NFL is king.

It does have a monopoly, that helps, ?

[batmanfreek]

3 hours ago, Hardhatharry said:

And the NFL holds supreme... Just can't beat the best talent.

Or...or. Hear me out.  They had to postpone /suspend their season because of some little thing going on and with not being able to continue this year...and the uncertainty of “when” large crowds will be able to attend again...and people not having money to blow on entertainment when this blows over for a league that isn’t the premier league...was probably why.  Not “lol rasslin lol xfl lol it sucked” You act like their ratings weren’t decent (for content starved networks as more and more continue to cut the cord) as well as attendance in stadiums. 

[Mc1320]

McMahon must really be thinking “He Hate Me”

[Happy]

1 hour ago, BillsPride12 said:

Late 80s-early 90s...Late 90s

 

2 hours ago, tcampbell104 said:

when was pro wrestling ever great?

 

Also early to mid 80's.  I remember Wrestlemania on pay per view, it was not to be missed.  Vince McMahon made a fortune on that and WWF, in general; he struck gold once and should probably be happy about that.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Happy Gilmore

[thronethinker]

It was done before it started. 

[Rochesterfan]

1 hour ago, batmanfreek said:

Or...or. Hear me out.  They had to postpone /suspend their season because of some little thing going on and with not being able to continue this year...and the uncertainty of “when” large crowds will be able to attend again...and people not having money to blow on entertainment when this blows over for a league that isn’t the premier league...was probably why.  Not “lol rasslin lol xfl lol it sucked” You act like their ratings weren’t decent (for content starved networks as more and more continue to cut the cord) as well as attendance in stadiums. 

 

The ratings were decent 1 to 1.5 shares - better than most other things on.  The problem was always cost associated with producing and filming football games.  The articles talking about both the AAF and the XFL talked about needing a minimum of 2.0 shares just to break even.  If the XFL was going to get a network contract that paid them money - they needed average network shares of between 2.5 and 3.0.  The AAF was even worse because they were covering some of the network costs also.  
 

The attendance was good in a few markets (St. Louis and Seattle mainly), but very poor in most other markets and the product suffered from the stadium size and lack of fans.  The attendance numbers were not even enough to cover the stadium rental agreements in many cases.  
 

Vince supposedly set aside enough money to keep it afloat a minimum of 2 years and maybe a third knowing that he was going to lose huge amounts of money the first 2 years.  The hope seemed to be especially after the initial weekend that they could get and maintain enough viewership to renegotiate the deal and make some TV money.  The ratings at the end (before March madness took even more viewers) had dropped to levels that were break even for the network - I think Vince knew he was not getting the TV deal anytime soon.

 

Now if they had been smart and opted to have the teams play in towns close together in the Midwest (St. Louis, OKC, Indy, Memphis, Louisville, etc.) - they could of saved on travel, used smaller stadiums, and created more of a college vibe - like you saw in St. Louis, but the TV stations want big markets: LA, NY, Washington and those cities were failures for the most part.

Edited April 11, 2020 by Rochesterfan

[batmanfreek]

8 minutes ago, Rochesterfan said:

 

The ratings were decent 1 to 1.5 shares - better than most other things on.  The problem was always cost associated with producing and filming football games.  The articles talking about both the AAF and the XFL talked about needing a minimum of 2.0 shares just to break even.  If the XFL was going to get a network contract that paid them money - they needed average network shares of between 2.5 and 3.0.  The AAF was even worse because they were covering some of the network costs also.  
 

The attendance was good in a few markets (St. Louis and Seattle mainly), but very poor in most other markets and the product suffered from the stadium size and lack of fans.  The attendance numbers were not even enough to cover the stadium rental agreements in many cases.  
 

Vince supposedly set aside enough money to keep it afloat a minimum of 2 years and maybe a third knowing that he was going to lose huge amounts of money the first 2 years.  The hope seemed to be especially after the initial weekend that they could get and maintain enough viewership to renegotiate the deal and make some TV money.  The ratings at the end (before March madness took even more viewers) had dropped to levels that were break even for the network - I think Vince knew he was not getting the TV deal anytime soon.

 

Now if they had been smart and opted to have the teams play in towns close together in the Midwest (St. Louis, OKC, Indy, Memphis, Louisville, etc.) - they could of saved on travel, used smaller stadiums, and created more of a college vibe - like you saw in St. Louis, but the TV stations want big markets: LA, NY, Washington and those cities were failures for the most part.

Good reply. And now looking at Vince in the whole picture with some other news, he’s trying to keep his bread and butter afloat first (wrestling) as he sold his stock at a lower price when it dropped prior to this ordeal from firing presidents in his company. 
 

 

[billsfan89]

5 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Seriously? You really believe how WWE had no effect on pulling the plug on the XFL? WWE was Vince McMahon's money printing press. It's what made the idea of funding XFL for three years doable.

 

He already sold the stock at record highs back in 2018 to fund the XFL. The WWE stock isn't a factor. 

[Golden*Wheels]

Man I have no one else to tell this to now so why not:

 

My Giants buddy Mike and I decided we would pick an XFL team together when XFL came back. Our entire lives (he is one day younger than I, we grew up together) we never had a team in common, in fact we often rooted against each other. My 8 year watched all games with us. We bought hats, the whole deal. We were all in, for fun. It was so awesome to have a team in common for once (My wife was like...OMG I love the Bills but I can't take this XFL nonsense!)

 

We're from CT but hank god we picked St. Louis (due to them not having an NFL team any more)...when we saw the NY fanbase full of Jets fans...we knew we chose right.

 

So we watched every Bhawks game...but he couldn't come over for the last one as he was sick, we texted during it. Well he had gotten pneumonia, and he passed away just a few weeks ago. Given what is going on, obviously we were all worried about Corona. But that was not it. He just didn't get to the doctor to take care of himself.

 

So we finally have a team in common...and he dies. I can say that easily, even with a smile, because the irony of it WOULD have made Mike laugh.

 

Gonna miss my buddy, miss the XFL, and miss the Battlehawks. To me they are all kind of wrapped up together. Gonna wear my Bhawks gear (got tons of it XD) with a lot of pride and with some fond memories.

[MassHog]

I live in the city where the headquarters is, and have spoken to a few guys that work for the XFL. It might be coming back 2022

[Mr. WEO]

17 hours ago, stuvian said:

were it not for the pandemic I think it would have gained some ground. Anything to see that smug smile wiped off Goodell's face

 

No chance.  It was dying more each week.  Ratings plummeting.

 

If COVID "killed" the XFL, then only as a mercy killing of a terminally ill patient.   Everyone saw the weekly numbers....Networks told McMahon it was hopeless.  He can do math.

[Phil The Thrill]

Will the closing of XFL bring Doug Whaley back to Buffalo as a scout!!!?!?!?!!

[cba fan]

23 hours ago, YoloinOhio said:

?

 

 

trolling from the grave.....lol......a new internet winner is crowned.

[PromoTheRobot]

13 hours ago, billsfan89 said:

 

He already sold the stock at record highs back in 2018 to fund the XFL. The WWE stock isn't a factor. 

 

He made $272MM in that sale. That's not enough to run a football league. He obviously was counting on WWE to bring in more cash.

[Mr. WEO]

8 minutes ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

He made $272MM in that sale. That's not enough to run a football league. He obviously was counting on WWE to bring in more cash.

 

 

He was counting on network money.

 

I knew he would bail out.  He's not going to burn all that wealth...especially given the status of his primary business.

[Albany,n.y.]

On 4/10/2020 at 6:06 PM, Reed83HOF said:

He is too busy drinking Bleach

He has to drink something strong to wash that dick taste out of his mouth. 

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

The XFL was doomed as soon as they signed Whaley to be the president of it. 

[Ed_Formerly_of_Roch]

I never watched it, like having downtime after the NFL season ends, kind of like the players, need time to recoup orate for the next season.

 

But am curious how were the rating, And maybe not the first week, but how were they the last couple they were on?  Didn't hear much about it which typically isn't a good thing.

[PromoTheRobot]

33 minutes ago, Call_Of_Ktulu said:

The XFL was doomed as soon as they signed Whaley to be the president of it. 

 

Except he wasn't the President. Oliver Luck was. Whaley was head of personnel.

25 minutes ago, Ed_Formerly_of_Roch said:

I never watched it, like having downtime after the NFL season ends, kind of like the players, need time to recoup orate for the next season.

 

But am curious how were the rating, And maybe not the first week, but how were they the last couple they were on?  Didn't hear much about it which typically isn't a good thing.

 

They debuted around 3 million viewers, fell by half but leveled off.

[Call_Of_Ktulu]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Except he wasn't the President. Oliver Luck was. Whaley was head of personnel.

 

They debuted around 3 million viewers, fell by half but leveled off.

It says Senior Vice President. I guess he found another job title that absolves him of blame for doing another ***** job.

[Irv]

18 hours ago, Phil The Thrill said:

Will the closing of XFL bring Doug Whaley back to Buffalo as a scout!!!?!?!?!!

 

No.  He got attacked by those dudes in Chicago.  Gonna be out for a while.  

[TheFunPolice]

Minor league football would only work during something closer to football season imo...

 

Wednesday nights from November til the title game in early March... Something like that when people are in football mode...

 

I love football but spring just isn't football season

[Playoffs?]

Surprised anyone ever invested in this league. It was never going to get going.. pandemic or not.  No one cared. 

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Playoffs? said:

Surprised anyone ever invested in this league. It was never going to get going.. pandemic or not.  No one cared. 

 

They had fans. And their ratings were right in line of expectations. It was working well enough for another season if not for the Corona-cooties. No point planning for 2021 yet but I expect them back in 2022...assuming he economy isn't collapsed by then.