The Rock Gives Major Update On The XFL
WWE legend and popular TV/film star, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, took to social media and announced that the XFL will be getting started a year from now. In the Instagram post seen below, The Rock reveals that talent scouts are already out and about in pursuit of the best players for the league.
"For all us FOOTBALL FANS 🏈 I got BIG & EXCITING NEWS!!" Rocky writes. "In exactly 365 DAYS, we will officially kick off our 2023 @XFL TRAINING CAMPS. As an XFL owner and a man who has put his callused, dinosaur hands in the dirt – I can guarantee you that our XFL PLAYERS will be the hardest and hungriest workers in the room. Our message to the FOOTBALL NATION ~ we are building our one of kind XFL CULTURE for you. XFL is watching. LFG."
As noted in the summer of 2020, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, his long-time business partner, Dany Garcia, and Cardinale's RedBird Capital purchased the XFL and split the price tag of $15 million evenly.
The football league went on sale and was purchased after its 2020 season was cut short following week five due to the pandemic. As a result, all major employees were let go at that time. Vince McMahon signed deals for three years to broadcast games with ABC, FOX, ESPN, ESPN 2 and FS1. Unfortunately, ratings took a hit each week, even with attendance meeting expectations.
In a conversation with Cigar Aficionado in February 2021, The Rock explained why working with the XFL is somewhat of a full-circle moment for him.
"My dreams of playing in the NFL never happened. Look, Warren Sapp beat me out for my position, I had a lot of injuries, none of those mattered," stated The Rock. "At the end of the day, I wasn't good enough. What the XFL will provide is an opportunity [for future players] to play. If the XFL was around for me in 1995 and I didn't get drafted into the NFL, you can believe I would have got on the XFL field."
You can see The Rock's Instagram post below: