The XFL filed for bankruptcy Monday and there were fascinating details in the league’s paperwork.
When the XFL was reborn in 2018 after a disastrous 2001 season, Vince McMahon said he was the sole funding source for the league. The initial outlay was expected to be around $100 million, the amount of WWE stock McMahon sold in December 2017, and put into Alpha Entertainment, the company that was the foundation for the league.
“I wanted to do this since the day we stopped the other one,” McMahon told ESPN in an exclusive interview. “A chance to do it with no partners, strictly funded by me, which would allow me to look in the mirror and say, ‘You were the one who screwed this up,’ or ‘You made this thing a success.'”
However, the bankruptcy filing shows that while the sports-entertainment impressario owned 76.5% of the league, the remainder belonged to WWE.
Vince McMahon had 100 pct of the XFL's Class A shares. He also had 76.5% of the Class B shares, with WWE holding the rest.
— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBG) April 13, 2020
The reality is while the XFL faced a monumental uphill battle to succeed, this was nothing like its 2001 incarnation. The coaches and players stuck to football. Commissioner Oliver Luck put together a strong, innovative team that added clever spins to the game.
An XFL source tells me the league is in fact for sale as part of bankruptcy process.
XFL still intends to return all ticket funds to fans (as @BenFischerSBJ reported Friday).
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) April 13, 2020
Based on the filings, the league has between $10-50 million in both assets and liabilities. Some of the creditors were clear-cut, such as the league’s coaches: Bob Stoops ($1,083,333.33), Mark Trestman ($777,777.78), Jonathan Hayes ($633,333.33), and Winston Moss ($583,333.33). Luck had a $20 million contract with the league. What financial responsibility McMahon will have to the commissioner has been an intriguing point.
BREAKING: XFL files for bankruptcy. N bankruptcy filing reveals that WWE actually does own part of league (23.5% of Class B stock). Among the creditors — Bob Stoops ($1M), Marc Trestman ($777K), Ticketmaster ($655K), other coaches ($583K) and MetLife Stadium lease ($368K). pic.twitter.com/PRj3CXAnkv
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) April 13, 2020
For the complete filing, click here,