Despite Being ‘Underdog’ To NFL And a Reported $60M Loss, Dwayne Johnson’s XFL Tipped To Overtake $1.26B Worth MLS By 2027

After two failed attempts, the XFL ship finally managed to lift off the grounds in 2023. The third season of the minor American football league ran from February 18 to May 13. Launched in 2001, the league was lying defunct after billionaire Vince McMahon failed to emulate his pro-wrestling success with the XFL. It was finally bought by Dwayne Johnson and his partners, including ex-wife Dany Garcia, in 2020.

Three years later, the new owners managed to host a complete season and announced further plans. One among which states the XFL’s goal is to go past Major League Soccer and take the 5th spot in the list of biggest sports leagues in the US.

Despite loss, XFL owners looking at the bigger picture

Johnson, Garcia, and private investment firm RedBird Capital jointly paid $15 million to McMahon for the acquisition of the XFL. While its previous two seasons have been disastrous, the third one turned out much better. Despite that, the league reportedly lost $60 million.

Not worrying about it, Gerry Cardinale, co-owner of RedBird Capital, told Forbes that they are looking to surpass Major League Soccer by 2027. He said while the soccer league took 30 years to be where it is today, XFL can do so within the next few years.

“It’s not a flip of the switch and all of a sudden you’re successful,” Cardinale said. “It took MLS 30 years to get to their current average team and implied league valuation. I believe we can do it in five years,” he added. Cardinale expects the league to become cash-flow positive by 2027. According to transfermarkt.com, the 29-team MLS is currently worth 1.18 billion Euros or 1.26 billion USD.

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However, in comparison to the National Football League, the XFL is light years behind.

Where does the XFL stand in comparison to the NFL?

This is a true David-Goliath comparison. In terms of revenue, the NFL is over a 17 billion dollar league. In comparison, the XFL is yet to cross the 100 million dollar mark. While the average XFL player draws a five-figure salary, a rookie NFL player makes a minimum $435,000.

These aren’t the only differences, the NFL has 32 teams, compared to the eight-teamed XFL. The crowd size is also a differentiator. For the XFL, the average crowd is 10,000, while close to 70,000 people make it to the stadiums for NFL games.

The differences are large. But the XFL is also in its nascent stage. So a comparison between the two would always yield lop-sided results in favor of the NFL. But, the XFL owners are currently looking at overtaking the MLS. They also have to tackle the issue of job cuts, which has plagued the league recently.

XFL fans, however, would be hoping for the continuation of the competition. Only then can the XFL challenge the MLS’ position and achieve its goal

So, tell us what you thought of the XFL owner’s ambitions in the comments.

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