XFL owner Vince McMahon is taking the XFL's return very seriously. While the investment was always going to be big, people expected the league -- which is rolling out in 2020 -- to be funded with the $100 million in WWE stock that McMahon sold back in December. However, the actual investment is reported to be much larger, around $500 million over the first three years according to ESPN.
The league's CEO and commissioner Oliver Luck said that the $100 million was always a misconception.
"People were focused on the $100 million, but the truth is that doesn't even get us to the 20-yard line," he told ESPN.
According to Luck, the largest cost will obviously be paying league personnel, including coaches and players. As all teams are owned by the XFL, eight teams with rosters of 40 will be the league's responsibility.
Players must also be insured against injury.
"I've been at all levels of football and the importance of a broad-based insurance program cannot be understated," Luck said, per ESPN. "There are very few participants who underwrite for this market anymore and it is obviously costly."
One thing is for sure: McMahon is taking this revamped XFL very seriously. Whether it can compete with the giant that is the NFL remains to be seen, but McMahon is doing whatever possible to ensure it does.
