50 Fun Facts About XFL

Which former WWE wrestler led the group that bought the bankrupt XFL hours before a planned auction in 2020?

Dwayne Johnson had wrestled as The Rock for Vince McMahon, the founder whose league he rescued, and had played college football for the Miami Hurricanes.

Which nickname did Las Vegas Outlaws running back Rod Smart wear on the 2001 XFL's best-selling jersey?

He Hate Me made Rod Smart a national sensation, and his later Carolina Panthers teammate Jake Delhomme named a thoroughbred She Hate Me in tribute.

What did the letter X officially stand for in the name of the original XFL?

Nothing was the official line: another league then being formed had already taken the name everyone assumed, so promoters stressed that the X was just a letter.

Which pre-game ritual did the 2001 XFL replace with two players sprinting to grab a loose football?

The coin toss gave way to the opening scramble, and the stunt caused the league's first injury when an Orlando safety separated his shoulder before his team's opener.

Which television network, having lost its NFL rights in 1998, co-owned the original XFL with the WWF?

NBC split the league 50–50 with the WWF and aired its weekly showcase games, then walked away after one season of collapsing ratings.

Which television show started 45 minutes late when a 2001 XFL game ran into double overtime?

Saturday Night Live had Jennifer Lopez hosting that night, and a furious Lorne Michaels got XFL telecasts cut off at 11 p.m. Eastern for the rest of the season.

Which play did the NFL redesign in 2024 using a line-up very similar to the revived XFL's?

The kickoff became the NFL's dynamic version, with coverage players and blockers lined up a few yards apart and held still until the ball comes down, much as the XFL had tried in 2020.

Which former wrestler served as the analyst on NBC's lead broadcast team for 2001 XFL games?

Jesse Ventura was midway through his single term as governor of Minnesota, and critics in the press accused him of cashing in on his fame with the television job.

Which NFL team's 2016 move left St. Louis as the only 2020 XFL market without an NFL club?

The Rams left for California after the 2015 season, and thousands of fans at the first Battlehawks home game chanted against the owner who moved them, Stan Kroenke.

Which XFL team's fans made a tradition of stacking empty drink containers into 'beer snakes' at Audi Field?

DC Defenders fans built a snake spanning several rows in March 2020, with the league's commissioner adding to it, and threw lemons onto the field in 2023 after security confiscated their snakes.

What nickname did the Los Angeles team carry when it won the only championship of the original XFL?

Xtreme players routed San Francisco 38–6, holding the losers scoreless until a third-string quarterback scrambled in during garbage time.

Which team had won all five of its games when the revived XFL's 2020 season was cut short?

Houston Roughnecks players opened with a 37–17 win and never lost, but no champion was crowned because the title game was never played.

Which team won the 2023 XFL title despite losing six of its ten regular-season games?

Arlington Renegades squeezed into the playoffs at 4–6, then beat the top team in each division, with quarterback Luis Perez throwing three touchdowns in the final.

Which longtime Oklahoma Sooners coach became the revived XFL's first head coaching hire, taking charge in Dallas?

Bob Stoops had won a national title in 18 seasons with the Sooners, and in the XFL he doubled as his team's general manager.

Which quarterback was named the 2001 XFL's Most Valuable Player and later started for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

Tommy Maddox had left football to work as an insurance agent before his comeback, and in 2002 he took Pittsburgh to the playoffs and was the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year.

Which Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback did the revived XFL say it had no interest in signing for 2020?

Johnny Manziel was left out of the draft and the player allocations, even though the commissioner had said teams would be free to sign him.

Which former Indianapolis Colts punter quit as a 2020 XFL sideline reporter after only one week?

Pat McAfee withdrew because he felt uncomfortable in the role, then went on to host his own ESPN talk show and commentate for WWE.

What forced the revived XFL to abandon its comeback season after only five weeks of games?

The COVID-19 pandemic stopped play on March 12, 2020, after a Seattle player was tested for the virus, and the league filed for bankruptcy a month later.

What was the main color of the Spalding game ball used by the 2001 XFL, marked with a red X?

Black leather proved so slippery that the balls had to be rubbed with sandpaper before players could handle them.

What name was given to the 2001 XFL championship final because of the prize its winning players shared?

Million Dollar Game replaced the tongue-in-cheek working title, the Big Game at the End of the Season, and split among the roster the pot came to about $26,000 a man.

Which familiar option for punt returners did the 2001 XFL abolish and then hype heavily in its marketing?

The fair catch was banned to force a return on every punt; in its place, tacklers had to stay five yards away until the returner had the ball.

Birmingham's 2001 XFL team became the Thunderbolts after residents objected to which original nickname?

Blast struck residents as a painful echo of the 1963 church bombing and a 1998 clinic bombing in the city, so the league changed it to something more benign.

What nickname did the 2001 XFL give its New York/New Jersey team, which played at Giants Stadium?

Hitmen fit the league's taste for names evoking crime or mayhem, and the team played in the XFL's first game, a 19–0 loss in Las Vegas that drew its biggest television audience.

Which ESPN documentary series included the 2017 film This Was the XFL, directed by a co-founder's son?

30 for 30 gave the film to Charlie Ebersol, whose father Dick built the league with Vince McMahon, and on camera McMahon mused about bringing the XFL back.

Which rival spring league did This Was the XFL director Charlie Ebersol help launch in 2019?

Alliance of American Football games began a year before the XFL's return, but the league ran out of money and collapsed before finishing its only season.

Which camera view from behind the offense, later adopted across NFL coverage, did 2001 XFL telecasts help popularize?

Skycam shots gave XFL games the look of a video game, and NFL broadcasters adopted the device after the league folded.

Which veteran sportscaster openly mocked the 2001 XFL and later grilled a defiant Vince McMahon on HBO?

Bob Costas was allowed to opt out of covering the league for his own network, and his tense HBO interview with McMahon was later portrayed as an omen of the collapse.

In which California city did the XFL's promotional blimp crash onto a waterfront restaurant in January 2001?

Oakland was hosting NFL playoff games that the blimp had been flying over; its pilots had to evacuate, and it drifted five miles before snagging a sailboat mast.

UPN's demand to shorten which WWF wrestling show prompted Vince McMahon to fold the XFL in May 2001?

SmackDown would have shrunk from two hours to ninety minutes as UPN's price for carrying a second XFL season, terms McMahon refused before closing the league.

The XFL ranked second on ESPN's list of the biggest flops in sports, behind which NFL quarterback?

Ryan Leaf was the only flop ranked above the league, and TV Guide separately placed the XFL third on its list of the worst television shows of all time.

Which Arnold Schwarzenegger science-fiction film featured a fictional XFL game before the real league had played?

The 6th Day, released in 2000 and set in 2015, imagined the league still going strong, a handy stand-in for films that find NFL logos too costly to license.

Which quarterback led the 2020 XFL in passing yards and touchdowns, then started NFL games for the Carolina Panthers?

P. J. Walker had spent two seasons on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad, and was named the league's first Star of the Week after throwing four touchdowns in his debut.

Which former Oklahoma quarterback became the first player to sign with the revived XFL in August 2019?

Landry Jones was allocated to Dallas, reuniting him with his college coach, and the league blocked the Pittsburgh Steelers when they tried to sign him back a month later.

Which former NCAA executive, the father of an NFL number one draft pick, was the XFL's commissioner in 2020?

Oliver Luck, father of Colts quarterback Andrew, was fired days before the league filed for bankruptcy and sued Vince McMahon for wrongful termination.

Which company did Vince McMahon set up to own the revived XFL and keep the league separate from WWE?

Alpha Entertainment was funded by McMahon selling a large block of his WWE stock, and its offices sat next door to WWE's own headquarters.

Which businesswoman co-led the 2020 purchase of the XFL and became the league's chairwoman?

Dany Garcia had followed the league as a fan since 2001, and her signature was printed on the official game ball when play resumed in 2023.

What name did the XFL and the USFL adopt when they merged into a single spring competition for 2024?

United Football League was a name the XFL had applied to trademark in October 2023, weeks before the merger won approval, and each old brand at first lived on as a conference.

Which media giant bought exclusive broadcast rights to XFL games in 2022, starting with the 2023 season?

Disney signed a five-year deal through its ESPN arm, and later took an ownership stake in the league that carried over into the merged competition.

Which type of play did the revived XFL use for its overtime shootout, with teams alternating attempts?

Two-point tries decided overtime in a shootout modeled on soccer penalties, though none of the 20 games played in 2020 ended level and needed one.

Which future Purdue and Louisville head coach was the Orlando Rage's starting quarterback in the 2001 XFL?

Jeff Brohm had the league's highest passer rating and led his team to six straight wins before an injury ended his playing career, and he was still named to the All-XFL team.

Which drug were 2020 XFL players free to use because the league chose not to test for it?

Cannabis was simply left off the testing list, a relaxed stance from a league that otherwise barred players with felony convictions.

Which drink did 2020 XFL players chug in televised locker-room celebrations as part of a sponsorship deal?

Hard seltzer became a postgame ritual after Anheuser-Busch signed on in the week before the opening games to promote its new Bud Light Seltzer.

Which original Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback returned to the city as head coach of its XFL team in 2020?

Jim Zorn had also been head coach of Washington's NFL team, but his Dragons won only one of their five games before the season was halted.

In which Connecticut city, also home to WWE, was the revived XFL headquartered for its 2020 season?

Stamford housed the league office right beside WWE's own base, but the new owners moved operations to Texas when play resumed in 2023.

Which cattle-inspired nickname did the XFL give its new San Antonio team for the 2023 season?

Brahmas honored the Brahman cattle breed, an animal the league's wrestler-turned-owner had long used as his personal emblem.

Which Super Bowl MVP wide receiver was head coach of San Antonio's new XFL team in 2023?

Hines Ward went 3–7 in his only season in charge, then resigned that December in response to a change in his contract structure.

Which Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back coached the XFL's Las Vegas team in its 2023 season?

Rod Woodson went 2–8 with the Vipers, playing home games on a field whose dried turf had to be painted green, and left after one season.

Which former Alabama quarterback, a back-to-back national champion, was the St. Louis Battlehawks' starter in 2023?

AJ McCarron said he chose the XFL over a better-paid job as an NFL backup so that his children could watch him play.

Which daily fantasy sports company, part-owned by Vince McMahon, became an official partner of the 2020 XFL?

DraftKings was named the league's official daily fantasy provider and an authorized gaming operator, part of a plan to build legal betting into the XFL.

Which organization became the 2023 XFL's de facto farm system under a player-personnel partnership?

Indoor Football League clubs became a landing spot for XFL players, and the first to make the move, Brendon White, joined the Massachusetts Pirates.