XFL notes
Posted by
Remlik (aka Remlik)
Jan 25 '18, 12:33
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Vince McMahon announced that the XFL would relaunch in 2020.
McMahon said he was going to take questions today but also ask questions of players, fans, and coaches on how they would re-imagine the game.
The new XFL will be fan-centric with "lots of innovations." He promised a shorter, faster, family friendly, easier to understand game.
They will open with 8 teams and a 40 man roster.
The quality of the human being will be as important as the quality of the player.
Fans will be able to customize in how they watch the games on big screens and mobile devices.
Brian Fritz asked Vince McMahon why now was the time to bring it back. Vince said there are 7 months without football.
They have two years to get ready and to showcase a better quality of the play in comparison to last time.
They are going to reimagine how they distribute the game. The XFLsep will probably be delivered in a combination of ways. They know there is interest but no talks yet.
Vince was asked how this will affect his day to day control with WWE. He said that there will be no change.to his role as Chairman of the Board and COO of WWE.
There will be no crossover with WWE talents or content with the XFL.
Vince said he won't be out in front of the XFL and he's going to hire executives to handle everything. This may be the last time we see him talking about the XFL. He doesn't want to be in front of it.
Vince said that the NFL kneeling controversy had no bearing on the decision to bring the XFL back. He's had plans for this for some time.
The decision to launch this separately from WWE, he said that the initial $100 million investment was "too rich" for WWE.
They will announce cities involved in the future.
Vince was asked about concussions and CTE and any plans on how they are going to keep players safe. He said reimagining it includes safety. They are going to make it as safe an environment as possible. He's going to bring in experts and listen to medical experts and heed their advice.
Vince was asked if President Trump would support this. Vince said he doesn't know if Trump will support the league. He said the XFL will have nothing to do with politics or social issues.
He declined to comment on whether San Diego would be a market.
Vince was asked why he wasn't concerned about football being oversaturated. Vince said the demand is there. It's going to be a faster, fan-centric game.
Vince was asked if he was going to suspend players if they speak out sociallly. Vince said there would be rules and players will be expected to honor those rules. He said the national anthem is a time-honored tradition and whatever their rules are, they will have to be abided by. There are lots of other places to speak on issues such as social media. When they step on the field, they will be about football.
There are lots of factors involved in choosing markets but they are nowhere near that yet.
Vince said they would be going after NFL cities. You want to play football in football stadiums. They doesn't mean they couldn't play at baseball stadiums.
Vince said every city is on their radar.
They are going to listen to football experts. They want to have a faster game that can be played in two hours. They may include removing the half-time.
McMahon said the reaction to the XFL ESPN documentary had no bearing on this as there has been talk about relaunching the XFL for years.
There was talk about giving the league a different name, but they felt there was equity in the name and they like the way it sounds. It's a cool name.
Vince said all options, including streaming and social media platforms are available to them that were not available to them the first time around.
Vince was asked if they would allow "He Hate Me" style jerseys. Vince said he didn't know about that - "We aren't there yet" but said it was amazing that people still remember Rod Smart. They are going to listen to experts and fans and media.
Vince said its a time honored tradition to stand for the national anthem in every country and feels its fair to expect people to honor those traditions.
The teams will be all new names, but they aren't restrained from bringing old team names and concepts back if that ideas are pitched.
Vince was asked whether players such as Tim Tebow and Colin Kapernick might be invited. Vince said any level of criminality is not something they want and said if a player got a DUI, they wouldn't be allowed to play. It's about the quality of the player as a person.
Vince was asked if Kapernick would be invited. Vince said that anyone who played by the rules would be invited.
Vince said that anyone who signed on would be well aware of the rules before they signed.
Vince said there would be no crossover with pro wrestling announcers used as announcers for the XFL.
VInce said he's going to hire professionals who know what they are doing - he's not going to be out front with the League.
He did not seek Linda McMahon's input before making the decision to launch this.
Vince said he was once again going to seek feedback and create and reimagine the game of football to excite the audience.
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