On March 12, the XFL followed in the footsteps of every sporting league in the country and decided to halt play with the recent outbreak of COVID-19. The 10-week regular season, the first for the reborn XFL, was scheduled to end on April 12 with two weeks of playoff football following to crown a champ. With the league currently halted, what does the future hold for the XFL? It’s time to dive in and see if this new league will last in this football world.
Playoffs, Yes Playoffs
When the XFL made the following statement suspending league play, they never announced the suspension of the actual season or playoffs. The biggest quote in the statement was “The XFL will not be playing its regular-season game”. Could the league be hoping to finish off the 2020 season with a quick round-robin playoff series? It very much could happen as head coach June Jones also made a public comment on how the league told managers they’re just suspending the regular-season games and playoffs are still on the table. Of course, the safety of everyone is the first priority during this rough time, but playoffs, yes playoffs can still happen for the XFL.
.@XFLRoughnecks Coach June Jones (@CoachJuneJones): “I feel very comfortable we’re gonna play again next year. “ (June says XFL hasn’t ruled out a playoff) “The league told us they’re just suspending the regular-season games right now. So that means there may still be a playoff” pic.twitter.com/BmiR4aFFbo
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) March 13, 2020
XFL In 2021
Finishing the 2020 season is a long-shot for the XFL, but coming back even stronger in 2021 is a very high possibility. The XFL has already came out with a statement saying they are determined in playing a full season in 2021. Especially with how strong the viewer count was during week five I would not hesitate going all-in on the XFL in 2021. Take a look at these impressive week five viewership records. Seattle Dragons at Houston Roughnecks game on ABC averaged 1.547 million viewers. New York Guardians at Dallas Renegades game on Fox averaged 1.497 million viewers. There was not a single Major League Soccer or College Basketball game during the span of the XFL that had more viewership on TV. Trust me, the XFL will be back and stronger in 2021.
Despite the suspension of the regular season, the XFL is still paying all players their base pay and benefits for the 2020 season. Season ticket holders will receive refunds or credit toward future games. 2020 saw new fans across the globe come be apart of history especially in St. Louis as they averaged 28,000 fans per home game. Expect the stands in 2021 to get even bigger and louder.
