Funny, I know we all joked about the XFL crashing like the AAF did, but man I genuinely didn't think anything could bring it down. What a wild time!
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XFL 2020 | Forum
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Maklarr4000
Mar 14 '20
So, does that mean the Oilers win it all? I mean, they haven't lost yet, so...
Maklarr4000
Apr 10 '20
Man... that's two leagues dead in as many years. I did not see that coming.
This is awful.
Spiderfan
Apr 10 '20
At least the IFL is still around... as of today. Hopefully that doesn't change.
Maklarr4000
Apr 11 '20
At least the IFL is still around... as of today. Hopefully that doesn't change.
I can't imagine the IFL wouldn't make it through. Their overhead has to be a lot lower than the XFL's.
Spiderfan
May 26 '20
Here is the article from The Athletic with the latest information about the status of the XFL courtesy of reddit user CoolTrainerTrev:
Vince McMahon has pulled out of bidding for his bankrupt XFL, but dozens of bidders are looking over the league’s financials and interested in relaunching it next February.
Those revelations came in a series of filings Tuesday, in which the league founder McMahon blamed a creditors’ committee for hounding him out of the bidding by accusing him of rigging the process.
“I don’t know why that’s out there, making me out to be the bad guy, (that) I’m going to buy the XFL back for pennies on the dollar, basically,” McMahon said last week in deposition testimony, part of which he included in a footnote to his legal filing. “That helped me move into the direction of I’m not going to be a bidder, not going to have anything to do with it. I do hope that someone will pay a lot of money for it, and I do hope that it will survive.”
The creditors’ committee last week in court papers claimed McMahon had thrown the XFL into bankruptcy on April 13 in a process designed for him to emerge as the buyer.
What “the Committee has managed to do with its overblown and baseless accusations is to chase away a potentially significant bidder for the Debtor’s assets — a potential bidder who, by the way, knows the Debtor’s business better than any other, who has already demonstrated the vision and drive to make the XFL a success, who believes in the XFL so much that he was willing to put at least $200 million of his money into the league, who provided critical rescue financing to fund employee payroll and preserve going-concern value, and who sought to make the XFL’s season ticket holders whole to sustain the league’s reputation and goodwill for the benefit of the future owner, whoever it may be,” the filing on Tuesday read. “The Committee’s knee-jerk obstructionism was, and is, reckless and value-destructive.”
But all is not lost for the XFL, which launched Feb. 7 and got through five weeks before shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The XFL’s investment bank, Houlihan Lokey, the filing said, is currently in active discussions with dozens of potential purchasers, and that most potential purchasers have indicated that the potential for an XFL season in spring 2021 is important to them.
“Based on preliminary feedback, there is a robust market for the Debtor’s assets, including a number of potentially interested private equity firms and other strategic and financial sponsors,” McMahon’s filing said.
William Hardie, managing partner at Houlihan, wrote in a separate filing of the prospective buyers, “their reasons include a desire to generate revenue and to further establish the league in a content-starved environment in spring 2021 and to avoid leaving space out to 2022 that would allow others to act on the opportunity.”
“As of May 25, 2020, Houlihan Lokey had distributed teasers to 235 potential purchasers,” Hardie wrote. “As of that date, 20 potential purchasers had executed NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and gained access to a data room containing extensive diligence materials, including a Confidential Information Memorandum that Houlihan Lokey added to the data room on May 21, 2020…As of May 25, 2020, six more potential purchasers were in the process of executing NDAs to gain access to the data room.”
And the XFL has crafted a scenario for a tournament starting in February. “In fact, I understand the Debtor has modeled for 2021 a made-for-TV, 12-week tournament-style approach to its business – since the XFL is particularly well suited for a crowd-free experience that could thrive in the current environment, given its existing innovations such as in-game audio from players and coaches and live on-screen sports wagering information,” Hardie said in his filing.
The Delaware bankruptcy court has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday with the dispute between XFL, and its parent Alpha, and the creditors on the agenda.
The committee wants the sales process to run through mid September, instead of the early July time frame McMahon proposed. In a concession, McMahon through the court filing agreed to extend the process through the first week of August, warning any more time would jeopardize a 2021 relaunch.
Vince McMahon has pulled out of bidding for his bankrupt XFL, but dozens of bidders are looking over the league’s financials and interested in relaunching it next February.
Those revelations came in a series of filings Tuesday, in which the league founder McMahon blamed a creditors’ committee for hounding him out of the bidding by accusing him of rigging the process.
“I don’t know why that’s out there, making me out to be the bad guy, (that) I’m going to buy the XFL back for pennies on the dollar, basically,” McMahon said last week in deposition testimony, part of which he included in a footnote to his legal filing. “That helped me move into the direction of I’m not going to be a bidder, not going to have anything to do with it. I do hope that someone will pay a lot of money for it, and I do hope that it will survive.”
The creditors’ committee last week in court papers claimed McMahon had thrown the XFL into bankruptcy on April 13 in a process designed for him to emerge as the buyer.
What “the Committee has managed to do with its overblown and baseless accusations is to chase away a potentially significant bidder for the Debtor’s assets — a potential bidder who, by the way, knows the Debtor’s business better than any other, who has already demonstrated the vision and drive to make the XFL a success, who believes in the XFL so much that he was willing to put at least $200 million of his money into the league, who provided critical rescue financing to fund employee payroll and preserve going-concern value, and who sought to make the XFL’s season ticket holders whole to sustain the league’s reputation and goodwill for the benefit of the future owner, whoever it may be,” the filing on Tuesday read. “The Committee’s knee-jerk obstructionism was, and is, reckless and value-destructive.”
But all is not lost for the XFL, which launched Feb. 7 and got through five weeks before shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The XFL’s investment bank, Houlihan Lokey, the filing said, is currently in active discussions with dozens of potential purchasers, and that most potential purchasers have indicated that the potential for an XFL season in spring 2021 is important to them.
“Based on preliminary feedback, there is a robust market for the Debtor’s assets, including a number of potentially interested private equity firms and other strategic and financial sponsors,” McMahon’s filing said.
William Hardie, managing partner at Houlihan, wrote in a separate filing of the prospective buyers, “their reasons include a desire to generate revenue and to further establish the league in a content-starved environment in spring 2021 and to avoid leaving space out to 2022 that would allow others to act on the opportunity.”
“As of May 25, 2020, Houlihan Lokey had distributed teasers to 235 potential purchasers,” Hardie wrote. “As of that date, 20 potential purchasers had executed NDAs (non-disclosure agreements) and gained access to a data room containing extensive diligence materials, including a Confidential Information Memorandum that Houlihan Lokey added to the data room on May 21, 2020…As of May 25, 2020, six more potential purchasers were in the process of executing NDAs to gain access to the data room.”
And the XFL has crafted a scenario for a tournament starting in February. “In fact, I understand the Debtor has modeled for 2021 a made-for-TV, 12-week tournament-style approach to its business – since the XFL is particularly well suited for a crowd-free experience that could thrive in the current environment, given its existing innovations such as in-game audio from players and coaches and live on-screen sports wagering information,” Hardie said in his filing.
The Delaware bankruptcy court has a hearing scheduled for Wednesday with the dispute between XFL, and its parent Alpha, and the creditors on the agenda.
The committee wants the sales process to run through mid September, instead of the early July time frame McMahon proposed. In a concession, McMahon through the court filing agreed to extend the process through the first week of August, warning any more time would jeopardize a 2021 relaunch.
Maklarr4000
May 27 '20
That is encouraging to hear that there's several parties lined up to keep it going. Were it not for the Coronavirus, man, the XFL would be well on it's way to being as mainstream as the NFL. I know that I'd be very keen to see more of the XFL in the future, and I know I'm not alone on that one.
I do wonder though if McMahon is still playing a long game on this one. I can't fathom he's willing to just let the XFL go- I get the feeling he's going to let some other party do the heavy lifting of putting together this second season, and then if it doesn't go well, he's poised to swoop in and take it over again later. Just a theory, but he's a shrewd businessman, and a crafty dealer- I can see him stepping aside to let some other entity spend all that money so he doesn't have to. I guess we'll yet see what happens.
Spiderfan
May 30 '20
https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/exclusive-fox-disney-interested-in-buying-xfl/
Apparently, Disney or FOX might buy the XFL. Interesting.
Maklarr4000
May 30 '20
https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/exclusive-fox-disney-interested-in-buying-xfl/
Apparently, Disney or FOX might buy the XFL. Interesting.
Oh wow- well, that would make sense. I mean, whichever service buys it effectively has a football league under their platforms' total control- and it's not like Disney doesn't have the money for it. Wild- this could be very interesting!
Spiderfan
Jun 1 '20
Here is another thing that is very interesting:
https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/exclusive-fox-disney-interested-in-buying-xfl/
Apparently, Disney or FOX might buy the XFL. Interesting.
Oh wow- well, that would make sense. I mean, whichever service buys it effectively has a football league under their platforms' total control- and it's not like Disney doesn't have the money for it. Wild- this could be very interesting!
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/06/01/xfl-moves-toward-an-august-auction/
The judge in the bankruptcy court actually moved the date up and I don't think that would have happened if it weren't for the potential buyers wanting to bring the league back. The XFL isn't dead yet!
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