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Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson purchased the XFL in 2020 after it abruptly closed up shop for the second time. At the time he and his business partner Dany Garcia vowed to make it a success this time around.
The XFL saw an uptick in attendance in stadiums across the league. It also saw the viewership increase as well and after the XFL Championship, there was a positive outlook for the 2024 XFL season.
But, in order to run a season in 2024, some tough decisions had to be made.
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The XFL has cut some marketing positions and made other positions seasonal only. In a statement to the Sports Business Journal, XFL spokesperson Dan Gagnier spoke about the decision:
“As the XFL plans for 2024 and beyond, it has decided to transition into a dual full-time and seasonal-based employment model to improve efficiency and drive sustainable business performance across all markets, given the seasonal nature of the business.
"The XFL will continue to employ full-time business and football operations functions on both the league and team levels and will scale up hiring each year for pre-season and in-season roles."
Gagnier said that in order to continue to keep the league in business, the business model needed to be updated. He said that cutting positions during the offseason was the way to do so. The XFL does still have full-time business and football operations positions.
The XFL obviously doesn't enjoy cutting jobs and laying off employees, but it is trying to do something that hasn't been done before: Play a second consecutive XFL season.
The first two attempts never made it past one season and if changing the business and employment model works, then fans will be back in the stands in 2024.
How much did Dwayne Johnson pay for the XFL?
In 2020, the XFL tried a reboot nearly two decades after the inaugural season. However, the COVID-19 pandemic abruptly shut the league down and it was announced that it would once again have to shut its doors. Former owner Vince McMahon announced that the league would file for bankruptcy.
In August 2020, Dwayne Johnson said that he and his business partner Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital were in talks to buy the XFL.
Johnson and company purchased the XFL for $15 million less than one day before the league was set to go to auction. They then spent the following year rebuilding the league and officially began play again in 2023.
