• Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is now the owner of the XFL.
• RedBird Capital is a private investment firm that focuses on sports-related business — famed Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane is also an investor.
If you thought XFL news would die down after the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, then you’d apparently be wrong. It’s been a wild ride from thinking the company was done, to hearing reports that Vince McMahon was trying to buy it, to him denying it. Now it seems that there are at least 20 bidders interested or I should I say “where interested.”
Johnson and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital bought the decommissioned football league for $15 million, hours before it was set to be auctioned. The deal was first reported by Sportico.
With my trail blazing partner @DanyGarciaCo & Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL.
With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our @xfl2020 brand.
Excited to create something special for the fans! #XFL #fullcircle pic.twitter.com/LprJ6HjglD— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) August 3, 2020
“With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL and look forward to creating something specials for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football,” Johnson told ESPN.
Johnson, an actor and professional wrestler, played college football at the University of Miami before playing a short time in the Canadian Football League.
The new part-owner of the XFL: pic.twitter.com/IRtmgnd4QJ
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 3, 2020
RedBird Capital is a private investment firm that focuses on sports-related business — famed Oakland Athletics executive Billy Beane is also an investor.
After signing a major broadcast deal with ESPN and Fox, the XFL was forced to cancel the remainder of its 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Teams only played five games before the league suspended play.
Does this seem like a move Spencer Strasmore would pull from the hit series Ballers?
