XFL 2020 Season

[Gothamite]

True, there will always be some impacts. But players won’t make as many reckless tackles if they can’t delay the consequences for a few decades.

 

The sad truth is that the game will have to evolve again.  A lot less knocking other players down in one impact.

[Mac the Knife]

Actually I think a devolution, rather than an evolution, would help with respect to player injury:  a redefinition of Rule 3, Section 35, which currently reads:

 

Quote

Tackling is an attempt by a defensive player to hold a runner to halt his advance or bring him to the ground.

 

To a more specific:

 

Quote

Tackling is an attempt by a defensive player, using his hands or arms only, to hold a runner to halt his advance, bring him to the ground, or push him out of bounds.

 

Adding those twelve words to the definition of a tackle, together with modifying rules to make any other form of tackle a foul (unnecessary roughness, enforced from the spot of the foul) would be a significant step in the advance of overall player safety.  It would teach modern players to tackle one another rather than just collide at full speed.

[WideRight]

If McMahon really wanted to tap into both "old school football" nostalgia and a family-friendly vibe (which does not sound like him quite honestly) he should work out a deal with whoever holds the USFL trademarks and revive the USFL not the XFL.   He could do it all just as he wants, but by tapping into USFL nostalgia, perhaps working with a uniform designer to make the jerseys actually look more like 1980's sleeved jerseys and bring back USFL teams, he would help to dissuade the XFL comparisons, bring back a lot of nostalgia of people in their 40's-50's.  He could even bring in former USFL stars as consultants to each of the teams.   Get Kelly, Flutie, Walker, Young, Spurrier, Mora, etc. on board and really push the spring football is back. 

 

He could start with larger cities, especially those with the fondest USFL memories, and then expand into other USFL cities as the league grew. 

 

New Jersey Generals

Philadelphia Stars

Tampa Bay Bandits

Michigan Panthers

Houston Gamblers

Denver Gold

Oakland Invaders

LA Express

 

Start with those 8 and then look to bring back Memphis, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Arizona, etc.

 

I really think people would get on board with a new USFL well before a new XFL.  Sad to say but that just does not sound like the way McMahon (It's all about me!!) would operate.  

[BBTV]

38 minutes ago, WideRight said:

If McMahon really wanted to tap into both "old school football" nostalgia and a family-friendly vibe (which does not sound like him quite honestly) he should work out a deal with whoever holds the USFL trademarks and revive the USFL not the XFL.   He could do it all just as he wants, but by tapping into USFL nostalgia, perhaps working with a uniform designer to make the jerseys actually look more like 1980's sleeved jerseys and bring back USFL teams, he would help to dissuade the XFL comparisons, bring back a lot of nostalgia of people in their 40's-50's.  He could even bring in former USFL stars as consultants to each of the teams.   Get Kelly, Flutie, Walker, Young, Spurrier, Mora, etc. on board and really push the spring football is back. 

 

He could start with larger cities, especially those with the fondest USFL memories, and then expand into other USFL cities as the league grew. 

 

New Jersey Generals

Philadelphia Stars

Tampa Bay Bandits

Michigan Panthers

Houston Gamblers

Denver Gold

Oakland Invaders

LA Express

 

Start with those 8 and then look to bring back Memphis, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Arizona, etc.

 

I really think people would get on board with a new USFL well before a new XFL.  Sad to say but that just does not sound like the way McMahon (It's all about me!!) would operate.  

 

Yeah... not sure what the stadium situation is in those larger cities, but 1) no NFL team is likely to lease their field to him, and 2) he'd be foolish to try and play in a >30k seat stadium.  In Philadelphia, he could maybe get Franklin Field (which would actually be pretty awesome), but would likely have to go out to the suburbs and lease Villanova's stadium (basically a glorified high-school field.)

 

Also, some of those places are the most expensive to operate in, which also could be a problem for him in the first few seasons.  

 

The nostalgia idea with full-time throwback uniforms could either be a smashing success or a terrible failure.  ONe thing's for sure though - the teams must look professional, and not like over-pipinged crazy-fonted high school teams.  You want to sell this as professional football?  You need to make it look like professional football.

 

[GDAWG]

2 hours ago, WideRight said:

If McMahon really wanted to tap into both "old school football" nostalgia and a family-friendly vibe (which does not sound like him quite honestly) he should work out a deal with whoever holds the USFL trademarks and revive the USFL not the XFL.   He could do it all just as he wants, but by tapping into USFL nostalgia, perhaps working with a uniform designer to make the jerseys actually look more like 1980's sleeved jerseys and bring back USFL teams, he would help to dissuade the XFL comparisons, bring back a lot of nostalgia of people in their 40's-50's.  He could even bring in former USFL stars as consultants to each of the teams.   Get Kelly, Flutie, Walker, Young, Spurrier, Mora, etc. on board and really push the spring football is back. 

 

He could start with larger cities, especially those with the fondest USFL memories, and then expand into other USFL cities as the league grew. 

 

New Jersey Generals

Philadelphia Stars

Tampa Bay Bandits

Michigan Panthers

Houston Gamblers

Denver Gold

Oakland Invaders

LA Express

 

Start with those 8 and then look to bring back Memphis, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Arizona, etc.

 

I really think people would get on board with a new USFL well before a new XFL.  Sad to say but that just does not sound like the way McMahon (It's all about me!!) would operate.  

 

If he goes with MLS stadiums, Philly. Denver, Houston and Los Angeles (Los Angeles FC) would fit.  The problem is that all four are NFL markets and it would be stupid placing teams in cities with NFL teams with the exception of New York and maybe Chicago. 

[BBTV]

"Philadelphia's" MLS stadium is a non-starter.  It's so inconvenient to get to, in a dangerous town, poorly served by transit, and simply wouldn't get people to go simply out of curiousity.  It works for MLS because soccer fans are die hards and would go no matter where it was, but ain't no family man in the suburbs going to take his kids to see a game in Chester PA (especially considering the atrocious parking / shuttle bus situation), and ain't nobody in the city going to go because most people don't have cars, and there's simply no good transit options.

 

A lot of the soccer bars run van trips to/from Union games (you pay a flat rate for tickets, transportation, buffet, open bar before the game) but unless that option existed for XFL (and why would it?) nobody... and BBTV means NOBODY, that lives in the actual city is going to go.

[GDAWG]

The only way the XFL lasts is if the end game is that it becomes the NFL' s developmental league, something which Vince McMahon won't allow due to his ego, despite the fact that the NFL needs one.

[Gothamite]

14 minutes ago, GDAWG said:

it would be stupid placing teams in cities with NFL teams with the exception of New York and maybe Chicago. 

 

It would be wise for him to avoid NYC altogether.  Minor-league sports are a hard sell in this city, and everything he has to do will be significantly more expensive here than elsewhere in the country.  

[GDAWG]

2 minutes ago, Gothamite said:

 

It would be wise for him to avoid NYC altogether.  Minor-league sports are a hard sell in this city, and everything he has to do will be significantly more expensive here than elsewhere in the country.  

 

Okay.  He's still going to need a major NFL market to sell the broadcast rights.

 

If Vince chooses to remove his ego from this, he could sell the XFL to the NFL in five years, if the league is successful.  The fact that the NFL has had no developmental league since NFL Europe/Europa folded is amazing.  The NBA at least has the G-League. 

[BBTV]

I would assume that he will pay for tv air time, rather than sell the rights.  Also I wouldn't expect it to be anything close to the model we're used to, as he's starting this from scratch in the digital streaming era.

 

 

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, GDAWG said:

If Vince chooses to remove his ego from this, he could sell the XFL to the NFL in five years, if the league is successful.  The fact that the NFL has had no developmental league since NFL Europe/Europa folded is amazing.  The NBA at least has the G-League. 

 

They have college football for that. 

[Mac the Knife]

Something I think hasn't been mentioned yet in terms of television:  the NFL has every one of its television ducks lined up in a row, with all its significant contracts expiring after the 2022 season.  CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, etc. all will be up for renegotiation just as the XFL is wrapping up its inaugural season.

 

The market for NFL football as a television product appears to be softening.  The XFL meanwhile will be perfectly positioned to exploit that if done properly.  If the powers that be within the networks finally decide not to take on NFL programming as a loss leader, the insane rights fees the NFL receives could increase less dramatically than they have during the past 20 years.  They could even fall.

 

The XFL could easily exacerbate that if it puts forth a solid football product in 2020.  A 2020 season that produces a good, sound on-field football product could siphon off 10, maybe even 15% of the money that would otherwise go to NFL coffers with just a single network signing on.  And while that wouldn't kill the NFL, it certainly would keep the XFL afloat throughout the life of such a deal.

[Gothamite]

6 hours ago, Mac the Knife said:

The market for NFL football as a television product appears to be softening.  The XFL meanwhile will be perfectly positioned to exploit that if done properly. 

 

That seems extremely unlikely to me.  I don’t think there’s any evidence that the NFL ratings are softening because of something the XFL can exploit; they seem to be softening because viewers are turning to streaming and other options, the presence of a crowded entertainment landscape and a general move towards fantasy football, which rewards alerts and stat watchers as much as watching the whole game.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

That seems extremely unlikely to me.  I don’t think there’s any evidence that the NFL ratings are softening because of something the XFL can exploit; they seem to be softening because viewers are turning to streaming and other options, the presence of a crowded entertainment landscape and a general move towards fantasy football, which rewards alerts and stat watchers as much as watching the whole game.

 

It's also dead simple to stream games. I get that most people are watching their home markets, but I do wonder if nflstreams affects ratings in any way.

[MJWalker45]

8 hours ago, Mac the Knife said:

Something I think hasn't been mentioned yet in terms of television:  the NFL has every one of its television ducks lined up in a row, with all its significant contracts expiring after the 2022 season.  CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, etc. all will be up for renegotiation just as the XFL is wrapping up its inaugural season.

 

The market for NFL football as a television product appears to be softening.  The XFL meanwhile will be perfectly positioned to exploit that if done properly.  If the powers that be within the networks finally decide not to take on NFL programming as a loss leader, the insane rights fees the NFL receives could increase less dramatically than they have during the past 20 years.  They could even fall.

 

The XFL could easily exacerbate that if it puts forth a solid football product in 2020.  A 2020 season that produces a good, sound on-field football product could siphon off 10, maybe even 15% of the money that would otherwise go to NFL coffers with just a single network signing on.  And while that wouldn't kill the NFL, it certainly would keep the XFL afloat throughout the life of such a deal.

With Fox paying $600 mil a year for Thursday Night football I don't think there will be a  big drop anytime soon.

[Gothamite]

32 minutes ago, DG_Now said:

It's also dead simple to stream games. I get that most people are watching their home markets, but I do wonder if nflstreams affects ratings in any way.

 

I’m sure it does, it or something like it.  That’s why they’re experimenting with their own streams, on twitter and amazon. 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Just now, Gothamite said:

 

I’m sure it does, it or something like it.  That’s why they’re experimenting with their own streams, on twitter and amazon. 

 

Which in turn makes it that much easier to rebroadcast. You can't blame them for trying.

 

They really need to follow the Spotify or even iTunes model: cheap price for access. When I had NFL Sunday Ticket, it cost me something like $250 for the season, but I was limited to one device at a time, couldn't watch anything being broadcast locally (which I get but shouldn't have to), and, worst of all, had to log out of any device I was using before I could log into another one. So if I wanted to start a game on my iPad and finish on my Xbox, I had to completely log out of one device and then into another. It was absurd.

 

NBA League Pass still blocks out local markets (which is the Blazers in Seattle) and stupidly doesn't have access to NBA TV, but otherwise does what you'd expect it to.

[Mac the Knife]

2 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

That seems extremely unlikely to me.  I don’t think there’s any evidence that the NFL ratings are softening because of something the XFL can exploit; they seem to be softening because viewers are turning to streaming and other options, the presence of a crowded entertainment landscape and a general move towards fantasy football, which rewards alerts and stat watchers as much as watching the whole game.

 

44 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

With Fox paying $600 mil a year for Thursday Night football I don't think there will be a  big drop anytime soon.

 

These are indisputable statements.  And yet... the possibility exists.  It depends on how Vince McMahon were to position XFL in 2020 (and 2021 if the NFL or the networks drag their heels i negotiations).  Yes, every network will still want NFL programming.  Yes, they're willing to obscenely overpay for it.  But with ABC essentially out of the running due to ESPN and everyone else comfortable with the slots they have?  Perhaps the bids for the individual packages stay the same as they currently are, or maybe even drop a bit.  That $600M for TNF might look very cheap five years down the road, or it might look very, very expensive.  We will see.

[The_Admiral]

13 hours ago, Gothamite said:

It would be wise for him to avoid NYC altogether. 

Vince McMahon wouldn't avoid his own backyard. He loves New York.

[Gothamite]

5 hours ago, the admiral said:

Vince McMahon wouldn't avoid his own backyard. He loves New York.

 

Oh, I get that.  But doesn’t make it any less a bad idea. 

 

Then again, I think this whole thing is a bad idea.