There was a time when it seemed Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson could do no wrong. However, after Black Adam flopped both critically and commercially, the pro-wrestler-turned-actor raised eyebrows for all the wrong reasons by attempting to fight the narrative he'd delivered a flop.
He's since returned to the Fast & Furious franchise after burying the hatchet with Vin Diesel, but things aren't looking great for his football league, the XFL.
In a piece from Forbes titled "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Says The XFL Will Succeed. Who Wants To Tell Him He’s Wrong?" it's revealed that the league, which was purchased from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, lost $60 million during its first season.
McMahon tried and failed to resurrect his football league but it fell apart during the pandemic and was purchased by The Rock, Dany Garcia, and Cardinale's Red Bird Capital for $15 million
Co-owner Gerry Cardinale says he "expects the XFL to become a cash-flow positive by 2027," and there are projections of $100 million in revenue during the next season.
It's also worth noting that it's performing admirably in terms of ratings (averaging around 627,000 viewers per game), though that obviously pales in comparison to the much larger NFL. That was to be expected, but there are doubts the XFL will make it.
"I've yet to see any iteration of spring football work in the sense that it becomes a permanent part of the sports landscape," former CBS Sports president Neal Pilson tells the site. "The American public loves football. It’s called NFL and college."
To that, Garcia says: "We're extremely well-capitalized for the long-term. This is our new WWE. The next massive live property."
Johnson, meanwhile, adds, "This is not just an endeavor that’s going to fill up a portfolio and one day we flip it and we’re out. This is legacy. This is the long game."
Only time will tell whether it pays off.