XFL Will Reportedly Go Up For Sale, WWE Owned A Portion Of The League

As Wrestling Inc. reported earlier today, the XFL filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday.

Vince McMahon's second attempt at a professional football league was forced to cancel the remainder of its inaugural season after the fifth week of play and ceased all operations on Friday due to the ongoing global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Though the league was suspended in March, the league paid employees through the end of the regular season, plus any accrued vacation days. The XFL is also in the process of refunding the balance of ticket purchases.

The bankruptcy filings revealed that WWE owns 23.5 percent of Class B shares in the now defunct league. McMahon owns all the Class A shares. The filings also revealed the XFL lists between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities and the same in assets and that the league owes more than $14 million to its 25 largest unsecured creditors, including seven of the league's eight head coaches.

The XFL owes money to stadium operators in St. Louis; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Tampa, Florida; Houston; and Washington, D.C. DC Defenders coach Pep Hamiltion is the only head coach not listed under the top 25 creditors.

A source close to the league revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that the league plans to maximize the value of its assets in order to pay creditors and has begun the process of seeking a buyer.

The league reportedly lost "tens of millions in revenue" due to canceling the season. The first iteration of the league failed due to increasingly falling ratings and the new league seemed to be suffering the same fate. The first week of games averaged 3.12 million viewers and fell to 1.16 million during the final week.

You can read the full bankruptcy filing at this link.