Arena Rock Bottom, No Longer: The XFL Reboots in 2022

I see Perez is still hanging in there as a perennial Spring League QB1.

Edit: first game hit the betting over. 36 pts so far.

 

So many insane highlights this game. Perez just fumbled, recovered and launched one for like 25 yards.

 

Hello there former Giant Cody Latimer.

 

I suppose there was tons of market research on this, but I’m surprised the time to try to make one of these semi-pro leagues work is the very next week after the Super Bowl; isn’t that precisely when we’ve all right well had enough of football?

Anyway, go Sea Dragons, cuz that’s an awesome name.

 

I think it makes perfect sense. People are used to having football every weekend for the past several months, and many would be disappointed that there is no more football until August. The XFL is capitalizing on that hunger for football by continuing the "football every weekend" streak. If they wait until, let's say, April, that hunger disappears and people don't realize that football is being played.

The XFL did the same in 2020, and so did the AAF in 2019. The USFL is the odd one out by starting in April, though maybe this year with the XFL bridging the gap, they will fare better.

 

The most exciting part of week 1.


Nice to see DC fans have something to cheer about for once @Juliet316

 

I watched a bit of tonight's game, and some of last week's opener. Not a great example of football, and it sounds like the viewership wasn't nearly where it was at in 2020. Can't imagine this lasting more than two seasons at most.

 

The DC team is called the DC defenders? My god what a boring name. At least it’s not racist.

 

I do genuinely believe this is true. They certainly won't get anywhere close to the NFL's viewership numbers, but they can certainly get enough to sustain themselves.

Ah yes, that's the trick. If they don't have a rich person behind them willing to fund them out of pocket for a few years, they won't get to that point.

Also, I would dispute the adjective "semi-pro". That implies that the players earn some money but still have to hold another job to make ends meet (example: lowest levels of minor league baseball). XFL players are paid $5,000 per game plus a $1,000 bonus per win, so with a 10-game regular season and two playoff rounds, players can earn anywhere from $50,000 (if on a winless team) to $72,000 (undefeated champion). That is in addition to a benefits package worth around $20,000, including housing and two meals per day during the season. That means players are earning a comfortably lower middle class income from football alone, which means the XFL is fully professional.

 

Not worth the money for a life time spent with a broken beat down body and all the rage problems that go along with playing football from head trauma.

 

I never said it was worth making your entire career in the XFL. You certainly couldn't as that's not the type of income that would allow you to retire in 10-15 years. I only meant to say that it pays enough to live on for a year or two, without needing a "day job", until you figure out whether you can make it in the NFL, figure out what to do with your life, or just decide you're satisfied that you've lived your dream.

 

Thanks for the info @jcgoble3 — my favorite thing about these leagues has always been imagining the guys on the teams free of the 9-5 for that blissful short time, so it’s heartwarming to hear those figures.

 

First saw this in my Facebook news feed and it's interesting to me since he was the backup for the Bengals for a bit:

 

Dang the St Louis game has a healthy attendence.
Biggest XFL crowd by far. St Louis misses football.

 

The XFL and USFL have merged and the new combined league will start on March 30. The merger was first announced in late September and was approved by federal regulators within the past week.

 

I think they should just go with a name like the Spring Football League to make it clear.

 

Obviously, the new name should be XUSFL.

 

The ex-USFL?

 

FLOXUS

 

UFL is an awful middle ground and has already been used.

 

I'll only pay attention to it for STFC purposes.