The Rock Buys XFL In $15 Million Deal, 'Creating Something Special'
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Buys XFL In $15 Mil Deal ... That's What I'm Cooking!!
FINALLY, THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO ... PRO FOOTBALL!?
The WWE legend just teamed up with an investment group to snatch up Vince McMahon's XFL league for $15 million, the league confirms in a statement.
The league had filed for bankruptcy after being resurrected for the 2020 season -- and was supposed to be auctioned off to highest bidder on Monday.
But, Dwayne Johnson and his partners -- Dany Garcia (Rock's business partner and ex-wife) and partners at RedBird Capital (led by Gerry Cardinale) -- swooped in and bought it up this weekend before it hit the auction block.
The deal must now be approved in bankruptcy court on Friday -- and if everything goes smoothly, it could close by August 21.
The Rock (along with Dany) and RedBird are reportedly 50/50 partners in the deal.
Remember, the XFL got off to a pretty decent start in 2020 -- but COVID essentially served as a death sentence to the league, forcing it to shut down in March.
The league filed for chapter 11 in April -- listing $10 to $50 million in debts.
The Rock issued a statement saying, "The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans."
"With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football."
The plan is to relaunch the league -- but so far, no timetable has been set.
As for The Rock, he famously played college football at the University of Miami back in the day before becoming a global pro wrestling superstar with Vince McMahon's WWE.
He's gone on to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood -- and a storyline on his show "Ballers" had his character pursuing the purchase of an NFL franchise.
