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The XFL issued the following:
XFL ANNOUNCES EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM
The league welcomes an accomplished group of executives that will bring top-tier experience, drive and innovation to the XFL
New York – November 8, 2021 – The XFL and its ownership group, consisting of Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and RedBird Capital Partners, are excited to announce the addition of nine executive hires as the league prepares for its highly anticipated return to the field in 2023. Joining and returning to the league are:
“These exceptional and talented executives encompass a deep skill set that aligns with our commitment to delivering an exceptional football universe experience, as well as our shared passion for bringing the XFL back stronger than before,” said Dany Garcia, XFL Chairwoman and Co-Owner. “Our team’s experience across varying professional sports leagues and brands will enable us to deliver an experience for our fans, athletes and partners that represents today’s evolution of ‘best-in-class’. A tremendous amount of work has already been done with more exciting news to come as we prepare for 2023.”
Brief bios of the executives can be found below:
Russ Brandon is a longtime NFL veteran, holding various positions within the Bills organization for over 20 years. Before joining the XFL, Russ was the Managing Partner and President of the Buffalo Bills, President and Alternate Governor on the Sabres and COO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE), managing all aspects of the day-to-day business and administrative operations of the three entities. In his new role as President, Russ will manage day-to-day operations of the league while directing strategic planning for business and football operations on both the league and team levels.
Rob Gerbe joins the XFL as Chief Financial Officer, where he will oversee financial operations of the league and its teams to provide strategic financial insights on all facets of the business. Rob will lead all financial and accounting matters, including reporting, planning and forecasting, to drive analytical decision making, support revenue growth, cost management and profitability metrics. Rob joins the XFL most recently from the NBA, where he served as Senior Vice President, Team & Labor Finance. Rob will report to Russ Brandon.
Jordan Schlachter is returning to the XFL as Chief Business Officer, overseeing business partnerships, sponsorship revenue and relationships, licensing, merchandising distribution, and media partner business and sales. Schlachter joined the XFL in April 2019, where he served as the Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer. In this role, he managed nearly all revenue sources (non-ticketing), marketing functions and communications for the league and its eight teams. He negotiated the league’s most significant partnerships, including those with Bud Light Seltzer and Progressive Insurance, created the first-ever football helmet sticker sponsor program. Jordan will report to Russ Brandon.
Janet Duch returns to the XFL as the league’s Chief Marketing and Content Officer where she will lead marketing, digital and business intelligence functions. She is responsible for the development of campaigns, content and experiences across all platforms and the data insights used to enhance fan engagement and maximize opportunities for business growth. Additionally, Duch oversees the XFL’s ticketing strategy and gameday operations across each team market, while also building out the league’s team services function. Janet joined the XFL in 2019 as the President of the New York Guardians, while also overseeing performance marketing for the league and its 8 teams. Janet will report to Russ Brandon.
Marc Ross joins the XFL as Executive Vice President of Football Operations, where he is responsible for all aspects of football operations, including rules and gameplay, logistics and league planning, as well as innovation, data and analytics. Marc has over 20 years of professional football experience working across both league and team levels within the NFL. He is also a current analyst on NFL Network. Marc will report to Russ Brandon.
Doug Whaley returns to the XFL as Senior Vice President of Player Personnel, where he will oversee player scouting, recruiting, compensation, growth and career development. Doug first joined the XFL in 2018 as Senior Vice President of Football Operations, where he assisted in the all aspects of creating of the eight-team spring football league and rules innovation. Doug brings over 20 years of NFL player personnel and football executive experience. Doug will report to Marc Ross.
Scott Harniman returns to the XFL as Senior Vice President, Enterprise Technology and is responsible for all functions of Information Technology and overseeing the XFL’s technology strategy, infrastructure buildout and delivering best-in-class systems to support the entire league. In addition, Scott will shape the football technology program by promoting innovation across emerging platforms. Scott will report to Russ Brandon.
Jay Rothman joins the XFL as Senior Vice President, Broadcast Operations where he will oversee all broadcast operations with our partners, administration and game productions including, original programming, studio production and event coverage. He brings over 30 years of live event and studio production experience to the league, most recently working at ESPN as Vice President of Production. Jay will report to Russ Brandon.
Cindy Wagner returns to the XFL as Senior Vice President, People Operations where she is responsible for establishing Human Resources and administrative functions while also providing strategic leadership to develop a world-class organization that promotes a culture of inclusivity, growth and innovation. She first joined the league in 2019 as Senior Director of People and Culture, Cindy will report to Russ Brandon.
For more information, visit XFL.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
***
Back in August 2020, Dani Garcia and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson aling with several other partners just bought the resurrected XFL football league for $15 million, just hours before an auction for the league was scheduled to commence, swooping in to purchase the league.
In 2018, WWE's COO Vince McMahon launched a new company, Alpha Entertainment, to pursue a number of potential entertainment endeavors as well as a potental relaunch of the XFL. The original XFL launched in 2001 as a joint venture between NBC and WWE, existing for one season before shutting down. This version of the XFL was birthed coming out of an ESPN 30For30 documentary about the rise and fall of the 2001 failed version of the league, This Was The XFL.
That documentary ncluded footage of McMahon and NBC Executive Dick Ebersol discussing their memories of their partnership in the league over dinner and the idea of launching it today. During those discussions, McMahon admitted that he had "recently" had talks with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about the idea of a "minor league NFL." The Director of that documentary was Charlie Ebersol, Dick's son, who later approached McMahon with the idea of purchasing the XFL rights and resurrecting the league.
Instead, McMahon did it himself while Ebersol went on to form the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which launched after the 2019 Super Bowl and folded within months. The AAF launched in February 2019, one year before the XFL's planned 2020 kickoff. Despite having a broadcast agreement with CBS, the AAF League almost immediately ran into cash flow difficulties, requiring a new $250 million investment, which made Tom Dundon the new majority owner. Dundon later made the decision to shut down the league, leaving the XFL's goal of becoming a new alternative football league unencumbered while also spotlighting the dangers of such a business launch.
As it turned out, XFL 2.0 shut down just weeks into its first relaunched season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although initially, the XFL promised to return next year, TV deals with ABC/ESPN and FOX in hand, it instead went into a quick bankruptcy, issuing the following statement at the time:
"The XFL quickly captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of people who love football. Unfortunately, as a new enterprise, we were not insulated from the harsh economic impacts and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Accordingly, we have filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This is a heartbreaking time for many, including our passionate fans, players and staff, and we are thankful to them, our television partners, and the many Americans who rallied to the XFL for the love of football."
Right before the bankruptcy, the league fired its Commissioner, Oliver Luck, who responded by filing a lawsuit against Vince McMahon over his departure. That lawsuit is still making its way through the court system but many of the filings have been sealed by the court.
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