A New Threat to the NFL? - XFL versus NFL - Brief Article

Football Digest, August, 2000 by David Stone

"THE NFL HAS BECOME TOO conservative, too corporate with too much regulation. We're bringing back old-fashioned, smash-mouth football, but with cutting-edge marketing and production values."

With that, WWF chief Vince McMahon launched the XFL this spring. As most football fans know by now, McMahon and his wrestling organization, which has developed into one of the most popular and recognizable brands in sports, plan to take the NFL by its face mask next year and give it a big jolt. Although the XFL won't exactly go head to head with the NFL (its season will commence soon after the Super Bowl), it could become a legitimate competitor to a league that has enjoyed a virtual monopoly for years.

And the XFL pulled a rabbit out of its hat in late March when it announced that NBC was its equal partner and will air regular-season and playoff games on Saturday nights throughout the spring. The deal brings football back to NBC, which was shut out in 1998 when the NFL negotiated an eight-year, $17.6 billion contract with other national networks. The XFL and NBC will jointly own and operate the league and its eight major-market teams, six of which had been announced at presstime: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, San Francisco, and Washington D.C.

The XFL is planned to be a gridiron version of McMahon's WWF: fast-paced and intense, with viewers brought right into the fray. The outcome of the games, however, won't be scripted the way McMahon's wrestling matches are. A number of rules changes--such as less time between plays, a shorter halftime, and no fair catches--are aimed to keep games under three hours. Players will earn base salaries and will be paid incentive bonuses for each game their team wins. Cameras will be placed in locker rooms, helmets, and huddles, and players and coaches will be equipped with microphones during games.

"XFL broadcasts are going to take our viewers inside the game," promises McMahon. "I want our fans to hear what the quarterback says to the receiver when he drops all easy pass or fumbles the ball, or what the coach says to the team down by three touchdowns at the half. Cameras will take the fans into the huddle and the locker room and up and down the sidelines. Coaches and players will be wired, even if we have to keep someone on the bleeper button. At last, our fans will experience the passion of the game."

Backed by the might of the WWF and NBC, the XFL should have every opportunity to succeed. Although it will provide more direct competition to Arena football than the NFL in terms of overflow media attention, sponsorship dollars, and fan support, it will at the very least give NFL fans a way to get their football fix during the offseason.

And--according to McMahon, anyway--the XFL will offer far more excitement than the NFL does. "These days, the NFL is so over-regulated it's pasteurized," says McMahon. "You can't show your exuberance. Certain gestures are taboo, your shirt tail has to be tucked in, your chin strap has to be fastened, and they tell you what kind of shoes to wear.

"The league is turning gladiators into choir boys! There is no regard for individuality. In fact, they go out of their way to sanitize their players. Sack dances? Endzone dances? Hell, no. And to me, that's not the game. Football has always been about distinctive personalities. That's what I'd like to bring back to football."

In spite of a now-crowded field of football leagues, Major League Football also plans to kick off next year, although in the fall. The 24-team league will place franchises in mid-tier, non-NFL markets--with the exception of New York and Los Angeles--and play a 14-game schedule. As of presstime, only an Orlando franchise had been sold (to league founder and commissioner Adam McLean). MLF does not expect to secure a national television contract, and hopes its teams will be able to survive on ticket, concession, and merchandise sales, which is a difficult task.

At the spring NFL meetings, team owners voted to establish the NFL Internet Network, which will for the next two years operate all of the league's and teams' online business under a single umbrella. Although it's not as comprehensive and significant a decision as the 1961 vote to pool all teams' television revenue, this should help grow the league's online presence, which is already substantial.

While teams will continue to sell local advertising space on their Web sites and keep all of the revenue from that, the league will also sell space, and the resulting money will be shared equally among the franchises. This should create much more value for advertisers, as they will more easily be able to reach a national audience through a single source. The NFL will also centrally control any future developments that are added to its Internet offerings, such as broadcasts, e-commerce, and auctions.

The Green Bay Packers, whose Lambeau Field was built in 1957 and is the NFL's fourth-oldest stadium, have been seeking public funds in order to stay in their legendary digs. Although the team has renovated and expanded the stadium numerous times in recent years--adding premium seats and other amenities--the Packers still struggle, despite their popularity, to compete financially in Lambeau and small-market Green Bay.