"The Rock" Is Buying The XFL

[Mr KLC]

Former WWE superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Gerry Cardinale’s private equity investment firm RedBird Capital have teamed up to buy the XFL for $15 million, the XFL announced. The deal, which was first reported by Sportico's Scott Soshnick, comes just hours before the league was slated to be auctioned.

According to Sportico, Johnson split the $15 million evenly with RedBird Capital.

“This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and the start of a fantastic new beginning for the XFL with the best possible ownership group going forward,” XFL President Jeffrey Pollack said.

The XFL shut down its operations during its inaugural season on April 10 and laid off its entire staff. The league cited the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic as its main reason and then filed for bankruptcy three days later.

In May, Vince McMahon said that he had no plans to attempt to buy back the league. He first announced its return in 2018 and reportedly spent more than $200 million on it.

The 2020 XFL season only made it through five of its 10 scheduled weeks. It averaged about 1.9 million viewers on FOX per game,

[Brock Landers]

Let this garbage die

[stake1]

Right guy for the job. Former football player, and has the "charisma" to market the league

[Bluehorseshoe]

Let this garbage die

It's something you can bet on in March.

Come on.

[Chi_archie]

Great

[pologq]

just tired of the XFL. it is hard to get interested unless it can actually bring in big names.

[Mr KLC]

[JIBBBY]

AWESOME!!! I'd love to see the XFL make a comeback.. I was enjoying it last season, was winning betting on it also.. The league grew on me after the 3rd week of watching it.

[johnnyvegas13]

Dammmm I was gonna buy the xfl

[stake1]

Dammmm I was gonna buy the xfl

Sorry Johnny. What was your opening bid gonna be at the auction?

[Microphone]

Yes let it rest in peace, please.

[SamsNCharge99]

FINALLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK........to buy XFL

[stake1]

FINALLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK........to buy XFL

[carolinakid]

i love the xfl and was like 7-2 in it, i hated to see it stop......

[Carseller4]

The right guy for the job if you smell what I am cooking.

$15 million? That is a great deal.

[SBR Tony]

it just might work now with vince mcmahon out of it. a lot of people hate Mcmahon, and they love the Rock
also the Rock is a Brand, and he and his ex-wife built that brand.

it will never be the NFL, but they might make it work better than it was

[Chi_archie]

The right guy for the job if you smell what I am cooking.

$15 million? That is a great deal.

Yeah pay 15 million to go lose another 250 million for you and your partners

Great deal!

[jjgold]

garbage

Rock basically putting up nothing

Tax write off

[Mac4Lyfe]

The Rock has really bought into his Baller’s bit.

[Bcatswin]

Rock coming out of retirement? My get a new team called simply the Canes?

[SBR_Guest_Pro]

Yes!! that's great news. The XFL is awesome. They don't put up with garbage like players kneeling

[Mac4Lyfe]

Yes!! that's great news. The XFL is awesome. They don't put up with garbage like players kneeling

McMahon didn’t put up with it. I don’t think the Rock would give a shit.

[Getch13]

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Buying XFL Doesn’t Guarantee League’s Success

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexreimer/2020/08/03/dwyane-the-rock-johnson-buying-the-xfl-doesnt-guarantee-leagues-success/?utm_source=TWITTER&utm_medium=social&utm_content=3548439533&utm_campaign=sprinklrSportsMoneyTwitter#240c27433a19

[Mr KLC]

According to Kevin Seifert of ESPN, the XFL does plan to play in spring 2021 at the moment. He spoke with the newest part-owner Dany Garcia.

[Mr KLC]

For all the noise surrounding the XFL’s bankruptcy, and the glamour announcement today of a buyer trio including entertainer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, perhaps the most startling aspect was this line in a bankruptcy court filing today: “no other Qualified Bids were received by the Bid Deadline.”

In fact, only two came in at Friday’s deadline, and only Johnson’s passed muster. And that announced offer is now subject to an objection by the unsecured creditors’ committee, which is alleging the deal shields XFL insiders and other beneficiaries from giving back money the league paid them.

After pumping roughly $200 million into the XFL, and assurances from his investment bank in May that there were dozens of interested suitors, Vince McMahon, the CEO of XFL’s parent company Alpha Entertainment, has this to show for his effort: a $15 million offer from a group comprised of Johnson, his ex-wife and business manager Dany Garcia and their partner Redbird Capital. An auction scheduled for today was canceled in light of the news there was only one suitor.

More serious than the gripes of former officials is a 14-page objection to the deal filed late today by the unsecured creditors’ committee.

“Accordingly, while the Committee generally supports a sale to the Buyer … the terms of the transaction as currently proposed are objectionable, as they are not in the best interests of the estate, would surrender critical sources of recovery for unsecured creditors and are generally inconsistent with market standards,” the committee wrote.

The committee’s objection is mainly that potential legal claims, like the right to claw back payments made in the year before bankruptcy, are part of the sale agreement. According to the committee, this “reflects over $60 million of potentially avoidable and recoverable transfers made by the Debtor during the 90-day and 1-year periods preceding the bankruptcy filing.”

A hearing on the proposed sale is scheduled on Friday in Delaware federal bankruptcy court.

Also unresolved, Pollack said, are TV deals with Fox and ESPN, which Alpha Entertainment wants to pass along to the next league owner.

[BarkingToad]

For all the noise surrounding the XFL’s bankruptcy, and the glamour announcement today of a buyer trio including entertainer Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, perhaps the most startling aspect was this line in a bankruptcy court filing today: “no other Qualified Bids were received by the Bid Deadline.”

In fact, only two came in at Friday’s deadline, and only Johnson’s passed muster. And that announced offer is now subject to an objection by the unsecured creditors’ committee, which is alleging the deal shields XFL insiders and other beneficiaries from giving back money the league paid them.

After pumping roughly $200 million into the XFL, and assurances from his investment bank in May that there were dozens of interested suitors, Vince McMahon, the CEO of XFL’s parent company Alpha Entertainment, has this to show for his effort: a $15 million offer from a group comprised of Johnson, his ex-wife and business manager Dany Garcia and their partner Redbird Capital. An auction scheduled for today was canceled in light of the news there was only one suitor.

More serious than the gripes of former officials is a 14-page objection to the deal filed late today by the unsecured creditors’ committee.

“Accordingly, while the Committee generally supports a sale to the Buyer … the terms of the transaction as currently proposed are objectionable, as they are not in the best interests of the estate, would surrender critical sources of recovery for unsecured creditors and are generally inconsistent with market standards,” the committee wrote.

The committee’s objection is mainly that potential legal claims, like the right to claw back payments made in the year before bankruptcy, are part of the sale agreement. According to the committee, this “reflects over $60 million of potentially avoidable and recoverable transfers made by the Debtor during the 90-day and 1-year periods preceding the bankruptcy filing.”

A hearing on the proposed sale is scheduled on Friday in Delaware federal bankruptcy court.

Also unresolved, Pollack said, are TV deals with Fox and ESPN, which Alpha Entertainment wants to pass along to the next league owner.

Interesting stuff

[jjgold]

its a dead league

[beefcake]

Loved the league.Hope it comes back.Houston Renegades team totals were great bets.

[Thrilla]