The XFL is back — and under new management. Partners Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners bought the spring football league from former owner and disgraced WWE head Vince McMahon in 2021, promising to reopen the league that got off to a roaring revival only to be shuttered by COVID-19 two years ago.
XFL 3.0 won’t kick off play until 2023, but the eight-team league is deep into preparations for its grand re-opening. The league’s inaugural draft — you know, if you don’t count the previous two versions — will begin Wednesday, November 16 at 11:30 AM E.T. as each franchise selects the player it hopes will be its starting quarterback for ’23 and beyond.
That will kick off a two-day process that will stock each team’s roster in advance of a February 18 opening day. But the XFL’s draft, since it’s starting from scratch (again) isn’t exactly like the NFL’s version. Here’s how it works: