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When WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon launched the second iteration of the XFL this year, he sounded confident that the league could outlast the original version, which folded after a single season.
As it turns out, the new league didn’t even last that long.
The XFL suspended operations Friday morning and laid off nearly its entire staff, ESPN reported. The move comes after the league canceled its remaining regular-season games last month after five games in response to the coronavirus pandemic. At the time, the league said it was committed to returning in 2021.
But that situation appears to have changed. XFL CEO Jeffrey Pollack informed league staff members of the news during a conference call Friday morning, a source told ESPN. During the call, Pollack implied the league was going out of business. The league has no plans to return next year, ESPN reported.
“It’s done,” the staffer said. “It’s not coming back.”
The Dallas Renegades finished 2-3 in the league’s pandemic-shortened inaugural season, coming in second in the West Division behind the undefeated Houston Roughnecks.
As recently as February, oddsmakers said the Renegades represented Dallas’ best hope at a pro football championship in decades.
