What was once a promising startup, has now gone by the wayside. Ah yes, the XFL. Almost 20 years ago now, the XFL burst onto the scene as the creation of WWE president, Vince McMahon. The first season turned out to be a failure as the product was more of a sideshow than an actual football league. Over a decade later, McMahon revealed that the XFL would be making a comeback and that it would be better than ever.

In February of this year, the new-look XFL made its debut and it was promising, to say the least. Unfortunately, the Coronavirus came in and ruined everything. The league decided to cancel its inaugural season but promised fans that it would be back and better than ever, in 2021. Well, it turns out that won't be the case as according to Darren Rovell, the league filed for bankruptcy.

When Vince McMahon announced the return of the XFL, people were incredibly skeptical. Eventually, once the league started, fans came around and began to believe in what McMahon was selling. The first few weeks of the XFL were incredibly entertaining and the whole thing was a good time. Then came the Coronavirus. Once it became clear that the league needed to shut down, they opted to completely cancel their season with the promise they would be back next year.

Well, it seems like the XFL could be done for good following the decision that was made today. According to Konnor Fulk, every single league employee was laid off today and the league has suspended all operations. The employees were alerted to this during a conference call and there was no word on whether the league would come back and the employees could get their jobs back.

These past couple of weeks have been an interesting experiment in whether or not football in the Spring can actually work. The XFL debuted last weekend and saw quite a bit of success. When the XFL debuted at the turn of the century, it was a bit of a sideshow. However, this version of the XFL is much more professional and features some high-caliber players who are trying to prove themselves. The first weekend saw incredible ratings as the first two games raked in 3.3 million and 3.2 million viewers, respectively.

According to Sports Illustrated, the league saw a massive decline in Week 2 as the first two games of the weekend raked in 2.1 and 2.3 million viewers. While these numbers are respectable, it demonstrates a decline in interest from the previous week. Considering this is a new league, the drop off is to be expected as many people only watched week 1 out of curiosity.

Antonio Brown has been one of the most fascinating athletes in the sports world over the last six months or so. He has gotten himself into quite a bit of trouble but now he’s trying to turn his life around and work his way back into the NFL. It remains to be seen whether or not a team will give him a chance although if there is one thing for certain, he won’t be heading to the XFL, anytime soon. 

During an interview with The Breakfast Club, Brown spoke out about the league and whether or not he would ever join it. Brown was quite harsh about the level of football and was pretty dismissive in the process. Based on his response, it’s clear he would prefer to play in the NFL.

“I don’t really watch lower-class football … I don’t support XFL, man. If it ain’t the highest level, man, I don’t wanna do it,” Brown said. “I’m not playing XFL … it ain’t even about the money to me, for real. I don’t wanna go chill with 60 dudes every day; guys jealous ’cause AB gettin’ all the touchdowns; guys jealous AB getting all the girls they be wishing about.”

While it’s all well and good that he wants to play in the NFL, it’s all contingent on whether the league wants him. If the NFL turns AB aside, he will have already burned a bridge with the XFL, which could spell trouble.

Tim Tebow was one of the most controversial quarterbacks in the NFL when he played for the Denver Broncos. He wasn’t controversial for any sort of misconduct. In fact, it was his play that made him the polarizing figure he is today. Simply put, Tebow wasn’t very good at throwing the football. However, he was able to run the ball extremely well and was always able to find unique ways to win. Regardless, he was ousted from the league after a few seasons of mediocrity and hasn’t been back on the field, ever since.

Now, Tebow is looking to become a professional baseball player and realize a dream he’s had since he was a kid. According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Tebow recently reconsidered his baseball goals and even reached out to the XFL. After some preliminary talks, Tebow realized it would be better to return to baseball although he quite complimentary of the new league.

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Per Tebow:

“We had a couple conversations. But it was pretty clear that this was — I love what they’re doing. I think it has a chance to have success. And I think that’s great. And so I think there needs to be a place for a lot of players that are really good and should and could be playing in the NFL and are better than a lot of NFL players. And there’s a chance they’re going to be seen. So I think it’s awesome and I think it’s good for a lot of guys that are going to get a spot on an NFL roster because they’re going show a team that they’re worth it. But for me this is what I wanted to do and pursuit it and be all in and just, yeah.”

If Tebow has a change of heart and quits baseball, the XFL could certainly be a great option for him, especially if the league is able to continue past this season.

Dez Bryant was one of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL when he was in his prime. Unfortunately, Bryant eventually left the Dallas Cowboys and he hasn’t been able to secure himself a spot in the league, ever since. Injuries have certainly hurt Bryant’s case although he is adamant about someday getting back into the league. In fact, Bryant has been very open as of late in regard to rejoining the Cowboys who were his very first love.

During a recent conversation, Bryant spoke about the brand new XFL and whether or not it’s an avenue he would ever consider. As he explains, he still thinks he can make it in the NFL and that for now, the XFL isn’t even on his radar despite him knowing that deep down, it’s a high level of competition. 

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“Nah, not at all,” Bryant said per Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. “I know I can still play. That’s not an issue for me. I have high confidence in myself. No disrespect to the XFL, I just know I can play in (the NFL), that’s not a question.”

With NFL free agency on the horizon, we’re surely going to hear Bryant’s name a lot over the next month. With this in mind, stay tuned for updates on the biggest ongoing stories in the NFL.

This past weekend, the XFL had its very first full slate of games and so far, the league has shown a ton of promise. Despite most of the games being blowouts, we were able to see some high-level football that will certainly keep our palets cleansed between now and April. Some think Spring football doesn't work but the XFL is trying to feed you a different narrative and so far, it's working. Fans are already excited for next week and in all honesty, so are we.

One XFL team is starting off their season with an unexpected bang. After losing to the Houston Roughnecks by a score of 37-17 on Saturday, the Los Angeles Wildcats have fired their defensive coordinator, Pepper Johnson. As you can imagine, the news came as a bit of a shock but the team's general manager, Winston Moss, offered an explanation.

Heading into the first weekend of the XFL, football fans were skeptical about whether or not the league would deliver on its promise for great football in the spring. So far, the league has brought forth some great ideas and fans are excited to see how the league will play out over the next 11 weeks. The XFL has real potential and it seems like the NFL has a thing or two it can learn from the new venture.

One thing that’s missing from the league, however, is star power. Of course, this is to be expected considering the NFL has all of the premium talents. Some people felt as though the league should have gotten Colin Kaepernick. In a recent interview, XFL commissioner Oliver Luck spoke about Kaepernick and how his demands were something the league couldn’t match.

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“We gave it some thought,” Luck said according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “We have some pretty significant salary restrictions, you know. We’re a start-up league, so we want to make sure that we can be fiscally responsible and fiscally prudent. And the salary requirements that some folks shared with us were in our case exorbitant, so we couldn’t go down that path. . . . We spoke with his representative, and the salary requirements that were broached in that conversation were exorbitant and certainly out of our range.”

For now, Kaepernick’s career remains in question although perhaps the league will expand to a point where they can afford high profile players like Kap. Either way, the XFL is offering an interesting alternative to the NFL and we can’t wait to watch more games.