The XFL was a professional American football league that played for one season in 2001. The league was founded by World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon. The XFL was intended to be a major professional sports league complement to the offseason of the National Football League, but it failed to find an audience and ceased operation after its first and only season. Created as a joint venture between NBC and the World Wrestling Federation under the company name "XFL, LLC", the XFL was created as a "single-entity league", meaning that the teams were not individually owned and operated... franchises , but that the league was operated as a single business unit. Vince McMahon's original plan was to purchase the Canadian Football League , while NBC was moving ahead at the time with Time Warner to create a football league of their own. The concept of the league was first announced on February 3, 2000. The XFL was originally conceived to build on the success of the NFL and professional wrestling. It was hyped as "real" football without penalties for roughness and with fewer rules in general.
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| On the air: | 2001 |
| Number of seasons: | 1 |
| Network: | NBC, Spike, UPN |