Syracuse Football: XFL closes its doors likely for good ending Orange dreams
The XFL has likely closed its doors for good ending the hopes of many Syracuse football hopefuls. Here are all the details and what it all means.
In back-to-back years two developmental football leagues have folded like a used lawn chair.
First, it was the AAF (Alliance of American Football) in 2019 and now the XFL has followed suit in 2020.
It all unfolded on Friday, April 10 when the XFL announced it had suspended its operations. ESPN later came out with additional details including: the league choosing to fire nearly their entire staff and that the XFL has no intention of returning in 2021.
It’s a sad tale for a league that showed a lot of promise in its inaugural season after rebooting the brand.
For all intents and purposes, this is just a serious case of bad luck. The main reason so many people believed in the XFL is due to the deep pockets of CEO Vince McMahon. With that level of financial investment and security, it seemed as if the league would have a fighting chance to develop and grown.
Unfortunately an act of god interfered by way of the novel coronavirus. The XFL wasn’t projected to start making money until year No. 3 and it’s very unclear when we’re going to break free of this which apparently put the league in a very compromising position.
The XFL lasted five weeks and during that time several former Syracuse football players made the most of their opportunities. Now all of the former Orange alum are free to sign professional contracts in the NFL or elsewhere with the league officially over.
One thing is for certain, there is room in the world for a developmental football league. The AAF and more specifically the XFL had TV ratings, a solid product, and some good football players. But if we’ve learned anything from the failures of these two leagues it seems that a relationship with the NFL is necessary.
The National Football League is a multi-billion dollar business and it benefits the league directly to be able to develop talent specifically at quarterback and offensive line.
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If a league could work together on a professional level with the NFL perhaps that can be the secret sauce to making things work on a long-term basis.