The Rock Hopes NFL Partnership Is Enough To Help XFL Outlast The USFL

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is entering uncharted waters as he prepares to once again re-launch the XFL next year. The league is facing stiff spring football competition from another organization that is returning from the dead. The USFL will kick off this year. The Rock is hoping to cut the USFL’s head start by partnering with the NFL.

It was announced yesterday that the XFL and NFL would collaborate on various football innovation initiatives. The leagues will not be sharing talent. Dany Garcia doesn’t want the XFL to be seen as a minor league. On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed how Dwayne Johnson’s league will try to use their NFL partnership against competition that already has great national TV exposure.

“Dwayne, Dany Garcia, and Redbird Capital bought it for $15 million, which is not a lot of money to say the least for all that, and they’re going to start in 2023, but this USFL is starting a year earlier which is a key because they’re going to have a jump. So, anyway, the USFL has TV deals with Fox, FS1, NBC, and USA, so they’ve got strong TV on stations that Dwayne would really, you would think that those would be some of the stations that Dwayne would really have the in with, especially NBC because Young Rock is on NBC.

Obviously, Fox has SmackDown and he drew by far the biggest rating they ever had. He and the NFL made a joint announcement, and it was essentially that they are going to work together to… The partnership is not about sharing talent, but to work together studying the game of football, collaborating on forward-thinking physical and mental fitness programs for the players. When it comes to innovation of the game, using the newest technology to enhance the gameday experience, you know, rules, insights, practices.

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So, essentially the idea is that they’re going to be conversing with the NFL, trying to come up with similar ideas. If one comes up with an idea, the other one will use it. When it comes to, just, innovation of football, if there’s a cool rule, they could experiment in the XFL to see if it works in real life or if its not good in real life. The key is that they will not be sharing players and they will not be an NFL developmental league.”

The USFL will have first dibs on available players and got a head start by choosing which markets to place teams in. That may not make much of a difference this year, as the league has announced that all regular-season games will be played in Birmingham, Alabama, with the playoffs and championships in Canton, Ohio. The Rock says the XFL is going to find a way to survive and thrive in 2023.

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Transcription by Thirsty for News