A potential partnership between the XFL and the Canadian Football League fell apart last summer, but the XFL’s new owners are Dany Garcia, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners swear at the time, their eight-team league was still planning to return for a season restart in 2023.
Per an ESPN piece, the XFL now has home television early next year.
It was announced during Disney’s prepaid event Tuesday that the Disney properties ESPN, ABC and FX will come together to broadcast all of the XFL’s regular and playoffs for the 2023 season. ESPN+ may also broadcast XFL-related content, but it’s unclear if that streaming service will be the exclusive broadcaster for any of the competitions.
The XFL is scheduled to start the season on February 18, 2023.
“This is a defining moment for the XFL and the beginning of an incredible, long partnership for the league, building on my very successful and longstanding legacy that I had with Disney throughout his career,” Johnson said in a statement shared by XFL website. “We are delighted to be working with global visionaries who align with XFL values, are true team players, and share our ambitious goals for growing the XFL. As a global sports and entertainment business, through the synergy of Disney, ESPN and the XFL, we will together create a new force on the sports calendar and bring a dynamic football game to the world. fans everywhere. It’s time for the ball to roll.”
As Michael David Smith As explained to Pro Football Talk, players attached to the United States Soccer League will not be eligible to play in the XFL assuming the USFL hosts a season next spring.
