SportThe Rock just bought a football league

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson just bought a football league. Specifically, the recently rebooted XFL.

He’s not content with being one of the most recognisable stars on the planet. Nor is he happy to sit and admire a business empire that already covers movies, bodybuilding shows and gym apparel. Oh no, The Rock has sniffed out another potential hit to add his magic to.

With his longtime business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia, Johnson completed the purchase for a paltry $15m.

The announcement of the deal was made on Johnson’s personal Instagram account.

What is the XFL?

The XFL was the brainchild of WWE owner Vince McMahon. Back in 2001, it was supposed to be fun, less serious alternative to the NFL and was packed with WWE-esque stunts and drama. It went out of business after just one season.

In 2020, the league was rebooted to become a faster version NFL. And although it got off to a good start, post-Super Bowl, Covid-19 struck during its inaugural season and it had to file for bankruptcy.

So it came to be that Johnson, Garcia and RedBird Capital picked up the business for a snip.

It’ll be interesting to see if The Rock’s star power is enough to propel the XFL to greatness, or whether the franchise is a poisoned chalice.