XFL Cancels Remainder Of Regular Season, League Plans To Resume Operations In 2021

As professional and collegiate sports leagues have postponed or canceled their seasons due to the spread of coronavirus, the XFL has decided to follow suit. The league announced Thursday that the regular season has been canceled, although the coronavirus wasn’t mentioned.

The XFL’s reboot had drawn exceptional ratings in 2020 since the league’s first attempt at an alternate professional league in 2001. Before the cancelation, only half of the 10-week season had been played, but the league isn’t planning on permanently shutting down.

“Currently, the XFL will not be playing its regular-season games,” the league said in a statement. “However, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. All XFL ticket holders will be issued refunds or credit toward future games. The XFL is committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.”

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According to ESPN, the league is also allowing players to sign with NFL teams following their exit physicals that will be held on Friday. Initially, XFL contracts stipulated that players could not sign with an NFL team until the conclusion of playoffs.

The average attendance for games was 18,614, with the largest turnouts in St. Louis (28,541) and Seattle (25,616). New York (14,875) and Los Angeles (13,124) were among the lowest. Ratings were favorable on ABC and ESPN as the networks averaged 2,084,000 viewers per game in Weeks 1-4, according to ESPN, while Fox networks averaged 2,019,000. According to the XFL, all ten of the games broadcast on those networks were ranked among television’s top ten shows during those weeks.