Vince McMahon's second attempt to get the XFL off the ground suffered a major setback when the football league filed for bankruptcy in April after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the cancellation of its inaugural season, but things have now got back on track in a big way.
According to Sportico (various other sources have since confirmed the news), former WWE Champion and current Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock’’ Johnson has joined forces with Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital to purchase the XFL just hours before a planned auction was scheduled to begin.
They reportedly paid $15 million, splitting it evenly. Johnson’s business partner, Dany Garcia, who is also his ex-wife, will be a stakeholder as well.
“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” said Johnson in a statement. “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 special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”
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