Finding ways to enhance player safety, the new XFL has launched a health advisory board. The members of the board consist of experts in neurology, mental health and orthopedics and are considered the top minds in the world today.

In a statement, the XFL announced the hiring of Dr. Julian Bailes, who will serve as Chief Medical Advisor. Other members of the board include Dr. Larry Lemak and Dr. Claudia Reardon. Daniel Wright, the former Head Athletic Trainer for the Milwaukee Brewers, will become the Vice President of Health and Safety. There will be room for more members down the line.

“The health and safety of our players is an important focus on our path to reimagine football and deliver a great product to fans when we kick off in February 2020,” XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck stated. “Putting in place the right experts and medical professionals is key. Our health advisory committee will work closely with our football operations department to create protocols and build best practice guidelines that put player health and safety at the forefront of everything we do.”

Dr. Bailes has football experience before; he served as team physician of the Pittsburgh Steelers for over ten years. A member of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and Chairman of the Pop Warner Football Medical Advisory Committee, Bailes has also worked for the NCAA for fifteen years. The chairman of NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Neurology department, he was featured prominently in Will Smith’s ‘Concussion’ movie in 2015. He was played by Alec Baldwin.

Dr. Lemak founded Lemak Health, an orthopedics and primary care center. He also serves as a member of the Pop Warner Football Medical Advisory Committee. The Medical Director for the NFL’s European League for 15 years, the same league Oliver Luck was a part of, Lemak also served as the Medical Director for Major League Soccer. He also founded the National Center for Sports Safety and the Alabama Sports Foundation.

A sports psychiatrist, Dr. Reardon works as an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Psychiatry. While no NFL-related experience, Reardon is considered the top consultant when it comes to mental health in sports. As the sole psychiatrist on the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, she also works with the International Olympic Committee, leading a workgroup called Mental Illness in Elite Athletes.

It is expected that Daniel Wright, an athletic trainer since 1985, will be a part of the hiring process, supervising and evaluating new athletic trainers for the XFL. He became the Athletic Trainer for the Brewers in 2011 after a stint as their Assistant Athletic Trainer and Conditioning Coordinator. He also held positions with the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. A graduate from the University of Oregon, Wright was the President and co-owner of an athletic injury rehabilitation facility called FitLife Health Systems, Inc.

The relaunched XFL season is expected to start in February of 2020, just a few days after the Super Bowl.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The rebirth of the XFL is one step closer to becoming a reality. The only thing missing from the organization is the players who will be competing. In the video below, XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck and Doug Whaley announced a tryout system known as the Summer Showcase.

Players with professional experience from various leagues will get a chance to showcase their skills when the XFL goes live. That includes 7-on-7 work. This will be invite-only, as there are no open tryouts. Players invited will vary from NFL, CFL and college players. The combine will take place on the following dates in the following XFL cities:

* June 7th: Arlington, TX
* June 8th: Houston, TX
* June 14th: Montclair, NJ
* June 15th: Springfield, VA
* June 21st: Long Beach, CA
* June 22nd: Seattle, WA
* June 29th: Tampa Bay, FL
* July 13th: Earth City, MO

There is an open application for college players interested, with paperwork to be filled on the XFL website. Once approved, those athletes may be able to attend the showcases and participate in all activities. Some of those activities include one-on-one’s with former NFL players, a 40-yard-dash, three-cone drill and a broad jump. The players testing results will be shared through the XFL and NFL, and, as the website disclaimer says, the tryout will not affect college eligibility.

The XFL’s first season since 2001 is expected to start just a few days after the Super Bowl in 2020. The games will be aired on multiple Disney and FOX stations.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

As we previously reported, the XFL announced that they have reached multiyear agreements with ESPN and Fox Sports to air their games in 2020. The games will air weekly on broadcast TV on ABC and Fox, along with games airing on cable on ESPN, ESPN2, FS1 and FS2. There will be back-to-back games every Saturday at 2 p.m. ET, along with two games on Sunday afternoons.

According to Sports Business Daily, there will be 43 games in the inaugural season. 24 of those will air on broadcast television, with 13 on ABC and 11 on FOX. Of the 11 games on FOX, two will air on Thursday in primetime in April of 2020.

Sports Illustrated reported that there will be no rights fees paid by ESPN and FOX. Sports Business Daily added that while the networks are not paying a rights fee, they will pick up production costs which are estimated to be $400,000 per game, which amounts to $17.2 million for the season.

Both networks will hold the streaming rights to games. They will cross-promote games during broadcasts and sell ads for the games. The XFL will handle sponsorships at the stadiums.

Despite the AAF not being able to last one season, ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus is confident that the XFL will succeed.

“Spring football is going to work,” said Magnus. “The combination of Vince McMahon, WWE, Fox and Disney is an incredible one to take a really hard run at this and see if that’s not the combination that finally makes it work.”

XFL Commissioner & CEO Oliver Luck agreed, and felt that one of the factors that hurt the AAF was that they were not on broadcast cable every week.

“The only game that the Alliance had on broadcast was their opening game on CBS. One of the lessons we took away was that they had a pretty good rating,” said Luck. “It shows that Americans still want to watch football the week after the Super Bowl.”

The XFL will re-launch on Saturday, February 8, 2020, six days after Super Bowl LIV. Two games will air that day, with the first one being on ABC and the night game airing on FOX.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The XFL will be making its re-debut under two major networks. A press release was sent out stating that FOX Sports and Disney will be the main distributors of the upcoming season. Games will be broadcasted on ABC, FOX, ESPN, ESPN 2 and FS1.

“We look forward to showcasing the XFL on ESPN and ABC, including the kickoff game and championship during the league’s inaugural season,” said ESPN Executive Vice President of Programming and Scheduling Burke Magnus.

“Vince McMahon and Oliver Luck are two of the sports industry’s most creative and experienced leaders, and they have exciting plans for this league. We believe in their vision for the XFL, which will be a great addition to our year-round commitment to football.”

“We welcome the XFL to the FOX Sports Family and are pleased to expand our relationship with Vince McMahon,” said Eric Shanks, FOX Sports CEO & Executive Producer. “Football is in FOX Sports’ DNA and a key component of our programming strategy. Alongside Oliver Luck and his incredible team, we’re excited for the debut of the XFL on FOX Sports.”

The XFL’s first season since 2001 will start on February 8, 2020, six days after Super Bowl LIV. Two games will be broadcasted that day, the first one being on ABC and the night game on FOX. The playoffs will be in April, with FOX hosting a game on the 18th and ESPN hosting one on the 19th. The XFL Championship game is scheduled for April 26 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN. NBC was the home of the XFL in its original incarnation, with UPN and TNN as weekend partners.

Both ESPN and FOX will be handling the marketing aspect of the league. There are eight total teams to start the XFL off, from California to New York. In addition to games, programming related to the XFL on each station will be announced in the future.

“We are thrilled to partner with ESPN and FOX Sports, two innovative media companies with extensive experience in world-class football production that will undoubtedly help us reimagine football,” stated XFL Founder and Chairman Vince McMahon. “The XFL broadcast schedule provides us with incredible reach and makes it easy for fans to watch our games consistently every weekend.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Not only does the XFL want to distance itself from the AAF which lasted all of eight weeks, but Vince McMahon’s pro football league is also taking steps to differentiate itself from the NFL.

XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck revealed a number of rule changes that will make the XFL look like a brand of football that fans haven’t seen before.

Luck said on the PFT PM podcast that the league will have a three-tiered extra point system in which teams can score one point, two points or three points after a touchdown.

On extra point attempts, teams can choose whether to go for a one-point conversion from the 2-yard line, a two-point conversion from the 5-yard line or a three-point conversion from the 10-yard line.

Thus, a touchdown and the ensuing PAT could result in anywhere from six to nine points. All of the conversion attempts would be from scrimmage plays as opposed to kicking attempts.

“We literally have a nine-point touchdown,” said Luck. “We think that’s valuable because teams that historically are down by let’s say three scores, well guess what, if it’s a 16-point or a 17-point differential, you’re really looking at a two-score game theoretically.”

The league considered moving the three-point conversion to the 15-yard line, but Luck said that defenses would have too much of an advantage with that much yardage to go.

The XFL will also use overtime rules which will resemble a soccer or hockey shootout. Each offense will have five attempts to score from the five-yard line and will accumulate one point for each score. If the defense forces a turnover, then the defense would get one point.

Both teams’ offenses and defenses will be on the field at the same time and lined up in opposite endzones. The offenses will then alternate during the five scoring attempts just as what happens in a shootout.

The XFL plans to begin play in 2020 and the overtime rules are currently being tested in the Spring League.

Source: Wrestling Inc.