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Despite Hailing His $15 Million Purchase From Vince McMahon a Resounding Success, Bad News Strikes for Dwayne Johnson and the XFL as Many Are Set to Lose Jobs

Published 06/01/2023, 9:30 AM EDT

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Just a fortnight after celebrating the completion of the relaunched XFL, current co-owners Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia have been hit with bad news. According to recent developments, the league is set to bid adieu to many of its employees as part of job cuts. The phenomenon has plagued many big companies in recent months and Johnson’s $15 million league has fallen victim to it.

However, all is not bad. The minor football league also made an unprecedented announcement recently, which ironically affected employment.

XFL dismisses two top brass from league

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According to Sports Business Journal, the league has parted ways with its CMO Janet Duch and VP/Marketing and Brand Anthony Zucconi recently. Duch and Zucconi lost their positions as part of XFL’s broader future. The league has recently announced its plan for the next season and beyond. This wasn’t the case with the last two times the league was launched.

via Imago

“As the XFL plans for 2024 and beyond, it has decided to transition into a dual full-time and seasonal-based employment model to improve efficiency and drive sustainable business performance across all markets, given the seasonal nature of the business,” XFL spokesperson Dan Gagnier said in a statement to Sports Business Journal’s Ben Fischer.

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“The XFL will continue to employ full-time business and football operations functions on both the league and team levels and will scale up hiring each year for pre-season and in-season roles,” the statement added.

The move will render many jobless while others will find themselves serving XFL when the next season kicks off in February 2024. Originally owned by pro wrestling mogul Vince McMahon, the league had two failed seasons in 2001 and 2020. In August 2020, Johnson and his ex-wife and business partner, Dany Garcia, and other investors acquired the XFL for $15 million.

Meanwhile, Johnson had shared a long post thanking his former spouse for the league’s success, just days after the championship game.

Dwayne Johnson’s heartfelt text to Dany Garcia post XFL

After wrapping the third season of XFL- the first under his watch- Dwayne Johnson revealed that they bought the defunct league after insistence from Garcia. Posting a series of photos on Instagram, the 51-year-old wrote: “We did it 🏆 🎊 🤯 🏈”

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The post was dedicated to his former wife, fans, and employees, who made the season a success. Johnson attended the final with over 20,000 fans at The Alamodome in Texas on May 13, which was won by the Arlington Renegades.

via Imago

Even before the league began in February, he marketed it as a league of opportunities and highlighted his own struggles of getting picked by a team in the NFL, which was The People’s Champ’s initial goal.

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With an impending job cut hovering around the league, several people are set to lose the promised opportunity. Fans would, however, wait for the future to see the impact it has on the league. In the meantime, tell us what you think about the job cuts in XFL in the comments.

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Written by:

Sudipto Maity

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Sudipto is a WWE writer at Essentially Sports. He holds a PG degree in Mass Communication. Being an experienced journalist, Sudipto has interviewed WWE Superstars Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus and hopes to add some more names to that list.
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Edited by:

Sherjeel Malik