The Rock Is Now a Part-Owner of the XFL

Adrianna Freedman
·3 min read

From Men's Health

  • Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is now part-owner of the XFL.

  • Along with business partner Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners, the parties paid $15 million for the ownership of the spring football league.

  • Johnson and his group purchased the league from WWE boss Vince McMahon.

It sounds a little bit like a scene out of one of his movies—or maybe a full season of HBO's Ballers—but this is 100% real: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a plan to save the XFL.

The actor, along with his business partner (and ex-wife) Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners (a private equity firm known for making investments in the sports realm), are part of a group that agreed to purchase the failing football league for $15 million on Monday, hours before the league was set to go up for auction. According to Sportico, the deal should see all parties splitting the deal equally, with Garcia being an equal stakeholder to Johnson.

But this doesn’t mean the deal is signed just yet. Sportico further reported the transaction will need to be approved by bankruptcy court on August 7, and should all the negotiations be approved, it will be closed after August 21.

Everyone seems to be pretty excited about the new investment, as both Garcia and Johnson went on to confirm the exciting news on their respective social media accounts a little while after the announcement.

“With my trailblazing partner @DanyGarciaCo & Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL,” he tweeted. “With gratitude and passion, I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our @xfl2020 brand. Excited to create something special for the fans!”

Having Johnson take over as part-owner of the XFL isn't out of the blue—most already know that the founder of the league is WWE chairman/CEO Vince McMahon. This would be the third time, though, that the league has attempted to start itself up: the first time being in 2001 (the year the league originated) and the second being this past year, when the coronavirus pandemic caused all sports to shut down.

The XFL was on its way to becoming a successful addition to the world of football when COVID-19 caused the league to file bankruptcy on April 13, according to ESPN. The publication also reported that before its filing, the XFL accumulated an average of 1.9 million TV viewers per game, along with making as much as $20 million this year.

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