Last year a “30 For 30” documentary on the XFL titled “This Was The XFL” debuted on ESPN, and the film was very well received. The documentary got people talking about the XFL again at the perfect time, and Vince McMahon recently announced that he will be relaunching the XFL in 2020.
But now it seems that he’s going to have some competition, as “This Was The XFL” director Charlie Ebersol has announced that he’ll be launching the Alliance of American Football, on Feb. 9, 2019.
The plan is for the league to launch one week after the Super Bowl, and the season will run for 10 games with 50 man teams.
This is certainly an interesting turn of events as not only was Charlie the director of the XFL documentary, but he’s also the son of Dick Ebersol who was Vince McMahon’s partner during the original XFL launch.
ESPN reports that Ebersol has hired former NFL General Manager, Bill Polian, while former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will oversee the players, with J.K. McKay overseeing the teams.
NFL players Hines Ward and Justin Tuck, and Dick Ebersol will also serve as advisors.
When Vince McMahon announced the return of the XFL he noted that he would be using a large sum of his own money to fund the league, but it would not be enough. He didn’t elaborate on potential investors.
Ebersol’s league reportedly has the backing of Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and The Chernin Group who are apparently in this for the long term.
“I think where businesses like this fail is that they expect to have ludicrous and unrealistic ticket and media deal projections in Year 1,” Ebersol said. “Our investors here understand that it’s a seven- to 10-year plan.”
Ebersol has also confirmed that the initial game will air on CBS along with one game a week, and the championship game. Other games will be available on the league’s app.
He also confirmed that current plans call for no timeouts and 60 percent fewer commercials during games.
