XFL referee Reggie Smith gestures with the XFL logo as backdrop in the first quarter of the game between the LA Wildcats and the Dallas Renegades at Dignity Health Sports Park. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Vince McMahon not bidding to buy bankrupt XFL

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/26/20

Last week, The Athletic's Daniel Kaplan wrote about how WWE chairman Vince McMahon may try to purchase the rights to the XFL that filed for bankruptcy in April amid the coronavirus pandemic.

New court documents acquired by ESPN's Kevin Seifert show that isn't the case.

"I'm not going to be a bidder," McMahon said in a deposition. The filing called the claims "inflammatory rhetoric and unsubstantiated accusations."
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) May 26, 2020

Seifert added that McMahon, who owned the league through Alpha Entertainment and the WWE, allegedly lost a substantial amount of cash due to the springtime league suspending operations because of the uncontrolled virus outbreak.

Also in the filings: McMahon said he put in “at least” $200 million into the XFL, which shuttered after five weeks of games due to the coronavirus pandemic.
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) May 26, 2020

Former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck has sued McMahon for wrongful termination. McMahon countered that Luck's firing was a justifiable business decision.

As of May 26, Seifert didn't rule out the possibility that McMahon could join with a new entity to take one last run at making the XFL a viable league.

Fair question. In a deposition within the filing, McMahon said: "I'm not going to be a bidder, not going to have anything to do with it.”

Full story has been filed to ESPN. https://t.co/386bifq39U
— Kevin Seifert (@SeifertESPN) May 26, 2020

Examining the XFL's standing in local marketplaces and among national viewers before the pandemic hit the United States is largely a useless exercise since so much in the sports landscape and the world, in general, has changed over the past several months.

Anybody trying to predict if previous customers, viewers and potential new spectators would welcome the start of a semi-pro football season in February 2021 without knowing if college football and the NFL will complete seasons this fall would be guessing, at absolute best.

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