The X League was a professional American football league that operated from 1999 to 2007. At its peak, the X League had 8 teams located in major markets across the United States. However, the league struggled financially and ultimately folded after the 2007 season. So does the X League still exist today? The short answer is no.
The Rise and Fall of the X League
The X League was founded in 1998 with the goal of becoming a major professional spring football league to compete with the NFL. The league secured major financial backing and signed a national TV contract with ABC/ESPN. The inaugural 1999 season featured 8 teams playing a 14 game regular season from March to June.
The first few seasons showed promise for the fledgling league. Attendance and TV ratings were respectable. There was buzz that the X League could become a viable second major pro football league alongside the NFL. However, problems soon emerged.
Many NFL caliber players were hesitant to join the new league due to concerns about quality of play and risk of injury. The X League was forced to rely on lesser known players and those trying to break into the NFL. The fast paced, high scoring games popularized by the X League, while exciting, were seen by football purists as lacking quality.
The fan base for spring football also failed to materialize. The X League season occurred right when fan interest in football was at its nadir after the Super Bowl. It proved difficult to attract fans so soon after the NFL season had ended. Viewership and attendance declined after the first few seasons.
These issues compounded leading to major financial losses for the league. The original ABC/ESPN TV contract was not renewed. Many teams struggled to attract sufficient fans and revenue to be sustainable. By 2006, the writing was on the wall that the X League was in trouble.
The 2007 season would prove to be the X League’s swan song. Two teams folded immediately after the 2006 season. With only 6 teams remaining, the league struggled through one final campaign before ceasing operations following the 2007 championship game.
Key Reasons for the X League’s Demise
There are several key factors that contributed to the failure of the X League after only 8 seasons:
- Inability to attract top talent: With NFL salaries escalating, few pro bowl caliber players were willing to risk injury or pride playing in the unproven X League for lesser pay.
- Lack of fan interest in spring football: The X League miscalculated fan willingness to consume more football right after the NFL season. Viewership and attendance declined significantly after the first couple years.
- Instability of franchises: Poor financial management and lack of revenue led to multiple teams folding after just a few seasons. Fans did not have time to build loyalty to teams that quickly disappeared.
- Loss of national TV contract: When ABC/ESPN declined to renew their TV deal, the X League lost a crucial source of revenue and national exposure.
These interlinking factors created a vicious cycle that the league could not overcome. By 2007, the X League no longer had enough funds or fan support to remain viable as a major professional football competition.
What Happened to X League Teams and Players?
Although the X League itself ceased to exist after 2007, many of its teams and players continued on in some form:
- Two X League franchises, the Orlando Thunder and Milwaukee Marauders, were relaunched as expansion teams in the Arena Football League.
- The Tampa Bay Tritons club was purchased and relocated to become the California Redwoods of the United Football League in 2009.
- X League players who did not land NFL roster spots often signed with Canadian Football League teams or joined indoor leagues like the AFL.
- Coaches and staff from the X League were recruited by existing pro football leagues and college programs.
So while the X League itself folded, some of its components were repackaged and found roles in other leagues. The dream of a large scale spring professional football competition did not quite materialize, but remnants of the X League continued forward in various forms after its closure.
Attempts at Revival
Despite its failure, the concept of a spring professional football league did not completely die with the X League. There have been a few attempts to revive the idea over the past 15 years:
- In 2010, the United Football League (UFL) briefly experimented with a spring season but quickly abandoned the idea due to lack of interest.
- Vince McMahon re-launched the XFL in 2020 as an edgier spring league, however it folded after one season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The USFL was revived in 2022 as a new spring league with eights teams playing a two month regular season. It completed its first season but remains to be seen if it will have staying power.
While some promise exists for spring leagues like the USFL, past attempts have shown the extreme difficulty in gaining traction. The stigma of “failed leagues” like the XFL also shadows any new attempt. It takes a perfect combination of star power, quality football, financial backing and fan interest to potentially disrupt the NFL’s dominance.
Conclusion
In the end, the X League did not survive past 2007. Its brief eight year run was an ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to become a viable second major professional football league and establish spring as a football season. Challenges attracting top talent and fans were too significant to overcome.
Elements of the X League lived on through relocated teams and personnel joining existing leagues. But the X League itself ceased to exist beyond 2007. Despite a few ambitious reboots, no large scale spring professional football league has yet to take hold since the X League’s demise. For now, the NFL’s dominance of the fall and winter football landscape remains in place.
