A potential XFL contender for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is looking to make an impression with his first game. FOX and NBC will simulcast the USFL season opener on April 16. It will be the first scheduled sporting event to air on competing broadcast networks since the first Super Bowl in 1967. FOX and NBC are contracted to broadcast all 43 USFL games scheduled for its next season.
The season opener will be played between the New Jersey Generals and the Birmingham Stallions. Every game in the USFL’s inaugural season is to be played in Birmingham, Alabama. Two venues are expected to be used: Protective Stadium, the home of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and Legion Field.
The revived incarnation of the USFL is owned by FOX Sports. It is not affiliated with the failed incarnation of the league which operated under the same name in the 1980s.
FOX and NBC’s parent company, NBCUniversal, are both broadcast partners of WWE. WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon’s privately funded Alpha Entertainment, LLC oversaw the unsuccessful relaunch of the XFL.
The XFL held its comeback season in the spring of 2020. It had contracts to air its games on ABC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN 2, and FS1. However, the season was suspended after its fifth week of matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The XFL then filed for bankruptcy.
Vince McMahon sold the league in the summer of 2020 to an investment group led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Johnson, his longtime associate Dany Garcia and Cardinale’s Capital RedBird split the $15 million prize evenly.
The XFL currently plans to begin its relaunch season in the spring of 2023. Training camps are scheduled to begin Jan. 3, 2023. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said earlier this month that talent scouts for the XFL are currently looking players for the League.
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