The 10-game season will start after the conclusion of the NFL season. Games will be played by traditional rules on 100 yard fields. "This will be real American football on a 100-year field, but with a lot more fun and a lot more attitude," McMahon told USA Today today. "The NFL has become too conservative, too corporate, with too much regulation. We're bringing back old-fashioned, smashmouth football but with cutting-edge marketing and production values."
Other minor league pro football leagues have failed in the past, most notably the USFL which initially competed with the NFL for salaries, signing such top star players are Rocket Ishmail and Hershel Walker. McMahon says it would be suicidal to compete for salaries with the NFL, but he is saying he will pay better than any other pro football league including the CFL and Arena League.
Even though the XFL won't compete for top NFL names, McMahon says he will use his well-proven marketing skills to create stars from the crop of players who are not signed to NFL deals.
WWFE Inc. stock has been downgraded by analysts to "venture" meaning a lot of money is being spent on an unproven project that likely won't deliver profits right away.
CNBC interviewed McMahon on CNBC about the announcement early this afternoon. When asked about the investment firms downgrading his stock, McMahon told those firms to "kiss my ass."
The XFL has not signed a deal with a TV network yet. McMahon says they are shopping the games to networks, both cable and broadcast. He expects a deal to be signed within 90 days. PWTorch.com sources say Fox is on record saying they aren't interested in the XFL. UPN and USA Network, given their current relationships with the WWF, would appear to be top candidates, but McMahon has not narrowed down the list of possibility and he has not linked the XFL TV package to WWF affiliates.
Game tickets will cost around $25 per game. The new league will benefit from exposure on the hugely successful WWF TV programs where football players can be cross-promoted. WWF wrestlers may be involved in game broadcasts. Top WWF announcer Jim Ross broadcast Atlanta Falcolns games on radio ten years ago. He may end up broadcasting XFL games, also.
McMahon has talked about making the game faster-paced than the NFL, with no fair catches, allowing endzone celebrations, and definitely allowing players to project individual images. The NFL has strict uniform codes. For instance, Minnesota Viking John Randal is not allowed to wear Road Warrior style black facepaint during games.
At the press conference at the WWF restaurant and nightclub this morning, a reporter asked McMahon if the games would be fixed. McMahon said a lot of planning goes into the WWF product, but the XFL games would be wide-open. Players would be paid a base salary and then bonuses based on winning.
When asked what he learned from his failed attempt to launch the World Bodybuilding Federation, McMahon said, "I learned not to make mistakes."
McMahon hinted that by its third year in operation, the championship game may be offered on PPV.
The CFL has expressed concern about the repercussions about the XFL start-up. "My first thought is players,'' league president Jeff Giles told the Toronto Globe and Mail. "They have to get their players from somewhere, and I`m sure they`ll be looking at us. I'm sure they'll offer more than we can pay, and we have to hold the line on salaries.''
The WWF tried to buy the entire CFL according to an article in the Toronto Sun yesterday. Several smaller market teams were in favor of the move, but the bigger market teams turned down the offer.
