The XFL and the National Football League have reached a partnership agreement that will focus on protecting the health of players.
XFL officials made it clear that the collaboration will not include player sharing for development purposes, but the alignment is notable given the growing number of alternative leagues in the football landscape.
The XFL will resume play in February 2023 under new owners. The revived USFL is working toward its launch in April.
The XFL will give the NFL a "petri dish" to experiment with proposed rules, test new equipment and develop prospective officials and coaches, according to Russ Brandon.
Brandon, an executive with the Buffalo Bills for two decades, said that NFL officials discussed the need for an outlet after the demise of the NFL Europe.
Brandon said that people would ask what the opportunities were to look at the game through a different lens.
Any opportunity that the NFL has to advance the game of football, I think they have always been open to, and we have had some really good dialogue, led by our ownership group.
In both of its previous incarnations under former owner Vince McMahon, the XFL could not use players. McMahon sold after the XFL declared bankruptcy in April 2020.
When asked if the XFL could one day use allocated NFL players or construct another kind of sharing agreement, he said it was not a possibility. In the spring, we will play at the highest level. There is no anticipation of a player sharing. That is not how we are executing our vision.
The RedBird Capital Partners met with the executive vice president of football operations and the commissioner of the National Football League to discuss a partnership. Johnson appeared on the field of the Super Bowl to announce the start of the game.
The XFL built its 2020 version as a re-imagined brand of football and has plans to continue that approach, making it a natural partner for the NFL.
One of the things we made clear was that we were going to take a stewardship position on the game and the game of football, expanding it and being impactful to the industry. We are excited about that. Our relationships with football and the NFL are deep and longstanding, so it was a natural process.
The XFL has shown us that innovation is one of its core principles, according to a statement released by the XFL. We are hopeful that this relationship will support further development and improvements in the game of football at all levels.
The football staff of the XFL was present at all the bowl games. Brandon said the league is working on plans for regional combines this fall, where it will test new approaches to evaluating players, with an eye toward opening training camps by January 2023.
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