:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58455577/DUaXN9vVMAAG0r7.0.jpg)
It’s happening. It really is happening. In Feb. 2001 the WWE (then WWF) and NBC Sports partnered 50/50 in a joint venture known as the XFL, today (Jan. 25) Vince McMahon moved one step closer to reviving his forgotten pro football league.
On a media call McMahon announced the official return of the XFL in 2020.
BREAKING: "The new XFL will kick off in 2020, and quite frankly, we're going to give the game of football back to fans." - @VinceMcMahon pic.twitter.com/t6B6jm7vgZ
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2018
The original XFL was a brainchild of the McMahon and NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol. Following NBC losing the television rights of the NFL to Fox and CBS, Ebersol turned to his longtime friend Vince McMahon to birth the XFL.
Marketed as a smash mouth alternative to the NFL, the XFL made it only one full season. After the championship game between the Los Angeles Xtreme and the San Francisco Demons, both the WWF and NBC reportedly lost upwards of $35 million dollars apiece on the project.