Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s XFL announces collaboration with NFL

The XFL and NFL are partnering together with a focus on football innovation.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia’s XFL announced today that it is collaborating with the NFL on “select innovation programs to further expand the game of football and create increased opportunities for player development both on and off the field.”

The collaboration is centered on learning and innovation within the area of player health and safety. The XFL will work with the NFL on “forward thinking physical and mental fitness programs for players, the study of playing surfaces and equipment and the sharing of game trends and data.”

Other areas of potential collaboration may include international football development and scouting, as well as officiating, including the testing of different game rules for player protection and enhanced overall play, and of different technologies to enhance officiating.

“We are extremely pleased to collaborate with the NFL in these important areas,” Garcia said. “We are bringing forward an XFL that is progressive and forward-thinking when it comes to innovation, leveraging the newest technology to enhance gameday experience. We have an open field for innovative rules to enhance in-game access. Sharing insights and practices between the XFL and NFL will do a tremendous amount of good for the game of football and support the player ecosystem overall.”

Garcia, who is the chairwoman of the XFL and a co-owner of the league, told ESPN that the partnership isn’t intended to put the XFL in position as a developmental league to the NFL: “That’s a no. We are a spring league. We will play at the highest level in the spring. There is not the anticipation of any player sharing that changes the dynamic. That’s not how we’re executing our vision.”

Johnson, Garcia, and RedBird Capital purchased the assets of the XFL in 2020. The league, which had first gone out of business in 2001, was revived by Vince McMahon in 2020, but its return season came to an end after five weeks following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The XFL will return with a new season in 2023.

On social media, Johnson posted a video commenting on the XFL-NFL partnership: