Vince McMahon’s second attempt to launch a spring football league was off to a good start. Even when they suspended operations in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, XFL officials sounded optimistic notes, paying players their full league salaries and committing to a 2021 return.
On a brief conference call with employees today (Fri., April 10), they sounded a more pessimistic note. Multiple reports have hit about the call, with ESPN adding in a story on their website that they’ve heard the League does not currently plan on coming back after this “shut down”.
NEWS: on a call today with COO Jeffery Pollock, XFL employees were just informed that the league is suspending operations and all employees have been laid off. Another sport impacted further by the current COVID-19 crisis.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 10, 2020
The XFL just held a conference call in which all employees were told the league is suspending operations. Said one: "The word they used was 'shut down'."
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 10, 2020
McMahon sold more than $300 million in WWE stock over the past few years to fund Alpha Entertainment, the limited liability corporation he created to relaunch the XFL.
He’ll now presumably turn all this attention to guiding WWE through the pandemic, and what will be a rough economic landscape when public health restrictions are eventually reduced in the coming months.