The XFL Suspends Operations, Terminates Employees, May Be Finished

The XFL suspended operations this morning and laid off nearly all of its staff with the exception of a few executives.

XFL COO Jeffrey Pollack held a 10 minute conference call to inform employees of the news.

As of now, there are no plans for the league to return in 2021. Pollack didn’t outright say that the league was finished, but that was the strong impression that some staff got. One employee told ESPN, “It’s done. It’s not coming back.”

The XFL season was scheduled to end this weekend and employees were told that they would be paid through the end of the season. That may explain the timing of the announcement.

The XFL canceled its season last month because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Vince McMahon has sold nearly $300 million in stock to fund the XFL revival. The indication was that the league had enough money and planned to stick around for at least two seasons, and possibly three, with the hope of signing a more lucrative TV deal at that point. The coronavirus obviously changed things, both shutting down the first season and making the economy and likelihood of a big TV deal uncertain.

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— XFL (@xfl2020) April 10, 2020