It takes a lot to start up a new sports league, and a new report says that the XFL lost $60 million in its first season. A new Forbes article cites industry sources as stating that the league lost $60 million in 2023 and had to cut some jobs, though RedBird Capital founder Gerry Cardinale says they expect the league to be profitable by 2027.
The 2023 season was the first for the re-relaunched league after a group that includes RedBird Capital, Disney, Dany Garcia and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson bought the league from Vince McMahon’s Alpha Acquico for $23.5 million. The league is projecting $100 million in revenue next year, including from ESPN who is paying $20 million for the media rights.
Cardinale noted, “It’s not a flip the switch and all of a sudden you’re successful. It took MLS 30 years to get to their current average team and implied league valuations. I believe we can do it in five years.”
The XFL championship game drew 1.4 million viewers, with an average viewership of 627,000 per game for the regular season. By comparison, Major League Soccer drew 343,000 viewers across ESPN platforms in 2022 while the NFL averaged 16.7 million viewers over 272 games in 2022.
