Yesterday the XFL put out a press release announcing they were sending out their first wave of invites to partake in the upcoming draft. Since then, a few more details have come out around the process.
The league will be distribute roughly 800 invites in total. The XFL is sending invites in installments to account for pending NFL cuts this September.
Each team will draft 70 players during the draft, which comes out to 560 players in total. This is not counting Team 9, which we assume will be comprised of players that get cut from the initial 70 man roster, as well as some that didn’t get picked in the draft.
Players who accept an invitation must complete and sign a HIPAA release form and consent to and clear a background check. Players must meet these two requirements to be considered fully draft-eligible.
Once drafted, a player must then successfully pass a medical examination and drug test, and subsequently execute an XFL standard player contract. In other words, players are not signed until drafted.
There will be no free agency in the XFL. Any players who becomes available after the draft will be allocated by the league.
We had previously reported that the XFL would be hosting a three-week training camp in Houston at the beginning of next year. Now it looks as if the league is also scheduling a minicam for December as well. Some online have stated that this is still not enough time to get ready. I wouldn’t doubt if the coaches will have time with their teams between the draft and these training camps.
Since the news broke yesterday, we’ve already seen some folks announce that they have received their invite. So far, we’ve seen a few Alliance players make the cut. Those include former Express QB Brandon Silvers and CB Brandon Maiden. Among the list we also see some arena football players with Tyler Rausa (k) and Andrew Erbes (og).
We’ll keep you updated as more names and details come out.
