CARSON, CA – MARCH 08: A player warms up near an XFL logo goal marker before the XFL game between the Los Angeles Wildcats and the Tampa Bay Vipers at Dignity Health Sports Park on March 8, 2020 in Carson, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
Monday morning, the XFL announced it would be partnering with the NFL as the two will work together on “innovation programs” moving forward.
The XFL is back… again… kinda.
While the XFL isn’t back to fielding teams and playing games (at least not at the moment), it is back to being in the headlines. And the headlines surrounding the XFL right now are actually really interesting.
Monday, the XFL and NFL announced the two would work together and collaborate on “select innovation programs to further expand the game of football.”
In a press release, the XFL stated the partnership would help provide “increased opportunities for player development both on and off the field.” The XFL highlighted that a focus on health and safety will be a key part of the partnership.
According to the release, the XFL and NFL will work “on forward thinking physical and mental fitness programs for players, the study of playing surfaces and equipment and the sharing of game trends and data.”
XFL and NFL announce partnership for ‘innovation programs’ and ‘player development’
There’s a lot going on there that isn’t really clear. A ton of vague wording.
It’s not exactly clear what efforts the two football leagues will use to accomplish the goals they have apparently set, but this is potentially very interesting news that could make the NFL a lot more fun and the XFL a lot more sustainable.
When the XFL came back to life, it attracted many fans because of the way it was willing to experiment with rules changes and things the NFL often deemed to be unconventional.
Unfortunately, the XFL had to put things on pause because of COVID-19. It never really got things started back up again and it had to declare bankruptcy. Some changes had to be made. With new leadership coming in and now this new partnership, maybe some more will be made some time here in the relatively near future.