Vince McMahon’s XFL suspending play for 2020 season

Less than six weeks after their relaunch began, Vince McMahon’s XFL season has come to an end — the latest sports league to fall victim to the worldwide coronavirus outbreak.

In a short statement released Thursday night, the league said the following:

“Currently, the XFL will not be playing its regular-season games. However, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. All XFL ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit toward future games. The XFL is committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.”

Of note, the word “currently” and “regular season” are curious choices, seemingly indicating that decision could change and/or they could have playoffs.

The XFL had held its own ratings-wise through their first five weeks across ABC, Fox, ESPN, and FS1, declining every week from a robust opening weekend but not nearly at the rate the 2001 version did. 

After turning down an offer from the founders of the now-defunct AAFL to buy the trademarks and all intellectual property, McMahon announced the formation of Alpha Entertainment in 2019, a separate entity from WWE, and that he was going to relaunch it instead.