Report: Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Redbird Capital Buy The XFL for $15 Million
Can you smell what The Rock just purchased?
According to multiple reports, actor and former WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson just teamed up with a private equity investment firm by the name of RedBird Capital to buy the XFL for $15 million.
According to Sports Illustrated, Sportico's Scott Soshnick broke the news just hours before the XFL was set to be put up for auction.
XFL president Jeffery Pollack described the sale as a "Hollywood ending."
This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and the start of a fantastic new beginning for the XFL with the best possible ownership group going forward.
The XFL shut down operations in the middle of its inaugural season (April 10), laying off its entire staff due to the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. They filed bankruptcy just three days later.
It was reported that Vince McMahon spent $200 million on the return of the XFL after announcing its return back in 2018, but in May the WWE head honcho said he had "no plans to attempt to buy back the league." Although the 2020 XFL season only made it halfway through the scheduled 10-week season it averaged nearly 2 million viewers per game on FOX.
We'll see where it goes under new ownership, especially with the fate of professional sports still hanging in the balance due to COVID-19.