XFL President and CEO Jeffrey Pollack departs the league

Jeffrey Pollack, 2019.
Jeffrey Pollack, 2019. Credit: Ric Tapia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On Thursday, news broke of XFL President & CEO Jeffrey Pollack’s departure from the XFL.

Both the league and Pollack declined comment, which is not unusual.

It is not known who will replace Pollack in this role, although there has been vague reports that league owners are currently seeking new leadership. Again, XFL officials remain silent on this matter.

In fact, the current direction of the XFL is mostly unknown, other than that they continue to focus on restarting in 2023. However, even on the restart date, league officials are timid to release any further details. Seemingly, announcements are pending as deals are being made. Once things are finalized the sports world should be treated to some spectacular news. Until then, listening to crickets is a far more pleasant activity.

On 22 January 2019, Jeffery Pollack was one of Vince McMahon’s first hires to the reimagined XFL. Selected by Vince McMahon himself, Pollack was lauded by the XFL owner.

“Jeffrey will successfully reimagine the game of football and guide the XFL to long-term success.” – Vince McMahon, 22 January 2019

Pollack remained in place through the buildup to the 2020 season and stayed on after the pandemic hit, organizing the league closure and curating the league during bankruptcy proceedings. Once the league was purchased by new owners Dany Garcia, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and RedBird Capital, they called on Pollack to remain on staff as President and CEO, trusting his ongoing leadership to manage the league while they made plans for its resurgence. Through this entire time, Pollack remains, at least, partially responsible for the league surviving to this day.

From the beginning, Pollack was known as a dedicated follower of Vince McMahon’s vision of a renewed XFL, leading the league to one of the most impressive startups known to the sports world. Pollack would later remark he was, “proud of that work.”

The XFL’s high-potential has been a point of agreement among sports pundits. However, despite the accolades, it was Coronavirus that cut the league’s stellar rise short.

Aside from the obvious impact to players, coaching staff, front office staff, and fans, to former league owner Vince McMahon the impact was akin to a knife in the heart that ended his 20-year football league ownership dream. In addition, don’t be mistaken, Jeffrey Pollack shared in the impact of the league closing as much as Vince, for the XFL was Pollack’s baby, and he remained as its step-daddy until earlier this week.

For XFL 2.0, it can be said that failure did not come from mismanagement or a shoddy on-field product. It was COVID-19 that killed this league. It took quite a bit longer for Covid’s after-effect to come knocking on Pollack’s door. Eventually, though, it has showed up.

All the best, Mr. Pollack. We know you did your best for the XFL, and we appreciate everything that was accomplished.