XFL Returns With Eight Teams

The third version of the XFL plans to return in February 2023 with eight teams.  The league announced that the teams will be in Arlington (TX), San Antonio (TX), Houston (TX), Las Vegas  (NV), Washington (DC), Seattle (WA), St. Louis (OH) and Orlando (FL).   The league has had teams in each of these cities in the past two XFL versions.  Arlington had the Dallas Renegades, San Antonio Commanders, Houston Roughnecks, Las Vegas Outlaws, DC Defenders, Seattle Dragons, St. Louis Battlehawks and Orlando Rage.  It has not been announced whether the teams will take on a previous name or a new name.

The new XFL was purchased out of bankruptcy by a group led by Dewayne “The Rock” Johnson.  The league has already lined up Bob Stoops, Wade Phillips, Rod Woodson, Terrell Buckley, Hines Ward, Jim Haslett, Anthony Becht and Reggie Barlow as coaches for the teams.  The league has also lined up Disney to broadcast games.  

Although the XFL will compete with the USFL they technically only overlap with one city as Houston has representation in both leagues.  The USFL’s Houston franchise didn’t actually play in Houston as all of their teams played this past season in Birmingham, Alabama.  The USFL does not plan to stray too far away from their “hub city” concept and not have their franchises to play in their respective cities.  In addition to the team locations, the XFL will start their season in February while the USFL begins play in April.

So can both leagues survive playing in the spring?  It’s hard to tell since each have separate models of how they are organized.  It could be that they may eventually have to reach some sort of merger or way to co-exist.  The USFL’s success in their first season proves that spring football can work.