Sports

XFL Teams: What You Need to Know About the 8 Squads Kicking Off in 2023

Tim Crean Sports Editor

Published12 Feb 2023

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While we all love Super Bowl Sunday, it’s also one of the saddest days of the year for football fans. That’s because it usually means seven months without professional football. That isn’t the case in 2023, though, as the new XFL kicks off on February 18, less than a week after the Big Game. To help all you football addicts seamlessly transition from one pro league to the next, here’s what you need to know about the new XFL teams.

The new XFL begins in 2023

Exciting day unveiling our NEW @XFL2023 uniforms by our official XFL partners @UnderArmour @ProjectRock

I’ve known @DanyGarciaCo since I was 18yrs old and years later, here we are 🙏🏾

Thank you to our great partners @Disney & @ESPN for the aligned vision. #grateful #54 pic.twitter.com/DnqWCytpqH
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) December 8, 2022

Many remember the XFL as the somewhat odd (but also fun) vanity project of WWE founder Vince McMahon from 2001. However, the league came back with the intent to be a minor league of sorts for the NFL and a legitimate spring football league in 2020.

Unfortunately, the timing was horrible as a global pandemic shut down the world, and the league folded, filing for bankruptcy.

However, another WWE legend stepped in to revive the league. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his business partner, Dany Garcia, stepped in and bought the league to start again in 2023.

This time around, there will again be eight teams, with five —the DC Defenders, Seattle Sea Dragons, St. Louis BattleHawks, Arlington Renegades, and Houston Roughnecks — returning from 2020. The New York, Los Angeles, and Tampa Bay franchises are being replaced by teams in San Antonio, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

Here is what to know about the new XFL teams