Last night the CFL held its 2021 National Draft. Although the season has been postponed to August 5th, the league is still moving full steam ahead. The first two rounds of the CFL Draft were aired on TSN, where they were joined by insider Dave Naylor to speak on the latest in the CFL/XFL discussions.
When speaking about potential timing for the partnership, Naylor had the following to say:
There’s been no official decision on that. But based on my conversations, I think there’s a strong likelihood that if the two leagues were to come together, were talking about a 2023 collaboration.
He bases this both on conversations he’s had and the reality of timelines. If the two leagues were to work together in 2022, they’d need to be a lot further along in the conversations then where they’re at now. Realistically, the XFL still needs to hire coaches, execs, players, etc.
At the moment, most of the CFL’s focus is getting back on the field this year. They are still working with the new XFL ownership group on what that partnership could look like, but it seems we may need to have a little patience before we know anything concrete. In the meantime, enjoy the action we have.
The Spring League kicks off May 6th, with all games being televised on either FOX, FS1 or FS2. Then, it’s the CFL’s turn on August 5th, which will bring us back to the next NFL season. When the CFL and XFL are ready to announce something, you know we’ll be here to report it.
Will you be tuning into TSL or CFL this year? When do you think we’ll hear official news on a CFL/XFL partnership? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments below or join the conversation on Discord.
