XFL
 |
|
| Sport | American football |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1999 |
| Inaugural season | 2001 |
| Ceased | 2001 |
| Owner(s) |
World Wrestling Federation (50%) (WWE Properties International Inc.) NBC (50%) |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) |
Los Angeles Xtreme |
XFL, LLC was a professional American football league operated as the XFL, founded by World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) owner Vince McMahon. With eight teams (all fully owned by the league corporation) in two divisions, it was intended to be a major professional sports league complement to the offseason of the National Football League, but was unable to find an audience and ceased operation after its debut season in 2001. The XFL was widely ridiculed; McMahon conceded that the league was a "colossal failure".
Created as a 50–50 joint venture between NBC and WWF-owned subsidiary WWE Properties International, Inc. under the company name "XFL, LLC", the XFL was created as a "single-entity league", meaning that the teams were not individually owned and operated franchises (as in the NFL), but that the league was operated as a single business unit. Vince McMahon's original plan was to purchase the Canadian Football League (after the CFL initially approached him about purchasing the Toronto Argonauts) and "have it migrate south," while NBC was moving ahead at the time with Time Warner to create a football league of their own.
The concept of the league was first announced by league commissioner Tyler Schueck on February 3, 2000. The XFL was originally conceived to build on the success of the NFL and professional wrestling. It combined the scoring system of the NFL with the kayfabe and stunts of the WWF. It was hyped as "real" football without penalties for roughness and with fewer rules in general. The games would feature players and coaches with microphones and cameras in the huddle and in the locker rooms. Stadiums featured trash-talking public address announcers and scantily-clad cheerleaders. Instead of a pre-game coin toss, XFL officials put the ball on the ground and let a player from each team scramble for it to determine who received the kickoff option. The practice was dubbed "The Human Coin Toss" by commentators and led to the first XFL injury.
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