It’s been a long road for the XFL since they were forced to end their season shortly and file for bacnkruptcy in 2020. Since then the league has been purchased by Dany Garcia, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and RedBird Capital.
In the buildup to their 2023 return, the new ownership group has touted a partnership with the NFL Alumni Academy. The partnership would give the XFL a leg up on scouting, but more importantly give them some legitimacy on their third go around.
The press release outlined that each member of the NFL Alumni Academy would receive an opt-in XFL contract.
The XFL and the NFL Alumni Academy will work together to identify the highest caliber players to train at the NFL Alumni Academy, leveraging combined resources and expertise to seek quality talent. Upon completion of the NFL Alumni Academy at the end of the NFL season, each player will automatically receive an opt-in contract with the XFL.
At face value this seemed like huge news for the XFL, but it seems that the partnership may already be in jeopardy, if not terminated already.
Hearing from a few agents that the XFL & NFL Alumni Academy relationship has come to an abrupt end.
I wonder why?
— Donnie Woods (@CoachWoods) December 6, 2022
Through sources deeply connected in the alternative football world, it has been learned that the @NFLA_Academy has terminated their deal with the @XFL2023 due to the #XFL failing to pay them, thus breaking their deal. #SpringFootball
— Connor Nahrgang (@nahrgangster41) December 6, 2022
We’ve spoke with a few sources close to the NFL Alumni Association and others in the spring-football scene and it’s clear that there is an issue in the background. At the time of publication we’ve been able to confirm that the XFL has failed to pay the NFL Alumni Academy for at least the past three weeks.
We’ve heard that either the partnership is close to over, if it hasn’t been terminated already.
We’ve reached out to the XFL, but have not heard back.
It’s hard to say if the XFL is having financial issues, or if this is just a major blunder behind the scenes.
The story is is still in motion, so it’s likely more news should come out on this front in the near future. We’ll make sure to update this article if we hear back from the league.
What are your thoughts on this developing story? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
