The XFL kicks off its 2020 season on Saturday when the Seattle Dragons take on the DC Defenders. The 2020 season begins 19 years after the conclusion of the XFL’s first season in 2001.

Vince McMahon’s league is the second attempt in recent years to create another pro football organization in the United States. The Alliance of American Football was not able to last through its first season, however.

Additionally, WWE and Vince McMahon are being sued by WWE stockholders in regards to the XFL. WWE stock-holders from the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension Fund has filed suit against Vince McMahon and the WWE seeking transparency in the relationship between WWE and the XFL.

How Much Money Will The XFL Lose?

With the XFL’s season about to get underway, one has to wonder what Vince McMahon’s plan is to make his league more successful than the AAF was. The belief is that Vince plans on funding the league for multiple seasons until they are in a position to get a big-money TV rights deal as both RAW and Smackdown currently enjoy. The TV rights deal would then hopefully be enough to cover the losses McMahon is expected to experience the first few seasons.

Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez discussed Vince McMahon’s strategy with the XFL on a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

“Vince has earmarked $300 million and that’s going to get them through 2.5 seasons and he’ll put up more later,” said Dave Meltzer. “The way this whole thing is structured is Vince is probably going to lose about $375 million over the next 3 years on this league and he will and he knows and that’s what he’s going to do.”

“Then at the end of those 3 years, the idea is he’ll be able to get television deals that will total over $125 million a year which would cover his losses and then he’s okay. There’s a lot of factors involved in that and again, the ratings are one of them. If these stations feel that it’s valuable enough to pay that much, it’s not as long a shot as everyone thinks.”

In 2018, ESPN’s Darren Rovell noted that Vince McMahon is prepared to spend as much as $500 million on the league.

“People were focused on the $100 million, but the truth is that doesn’t even get us to the 20-yard line,” league CEO and commissioner Oliver Luck told ESPN.

“There are very few participants who underwrite for this market anymore and it is obviously costly,” he continued.