Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson had a short career with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He signed with the team in 1995 and was assigned to its practice squad before being cut 2 months later. Now, the football league he co-owns, the XFL, is exploring possible opportunities to align with the CFL.
Both leagues released statements on their plans today. The XFL announced it is putting plans for its 2022 season on-hold while these discussions takes place.
The XFL and CFL Release Statements
XFL owner Dani Garcia released the following statement:
“Since we first acquired the XFL, we have focused on identifying partners who share our vision and values on and off the field. A vision filled with opportunity, innovation and the highest level of entertainment value for the benefit of our athletes, fans and communities,” Garcia said. “The CFL has expressed that similar sentiment and jointly we recognize a great opportunity to build exciting innovative football experiences that make the most of each league’s unique strengths. I look forward to our continued discussions and we will update the sports community as we have more to share.”
The CFL released a statement regarding the talks between the two sides. They noted
“We ended up having this conversation with the ownership group with the XFL,” said CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “Somewhere in all of that we ended up reaching a point where we think there’s a common vision, a lot of common DNA. What we really wanted to do today was not have those discussions in the shadows, we wanted to have a more transparent conversation.”
As for what a possible partnership between the two leagues could mean, only speculation can be made. What is being discussed is significant enough, however, that the XFL is postponing plans for its 2022 season.