Private Ownership vs League Ownership

[XFLGUY]

Has there ever been any discussion of allowing at some point open bids for private ownership of the current teams or allowing private ownership of any future expansion teams or is the plan to keep all of the teams under league control?

[GDAWG]

Vince McMahon is not someone who is willing to hand control of the teams over to anyone else, so he will control all of the teams for the duration of the league, however long that is going to be. He wants to control everything, he's been known as an egomaniac who cares about nothing but himself and that is evident when he books WWE.

[Sounder]

Well he has said all along that this will succeed or fail on HIS terms.....unlike the 1.0 version where NBC was able to bail, leaving Vince without much of a paddle.
But it seems with Oliver on board, with his MLS background.....that would be the model they follow.

[Tank55]

Has there ever been any discussion of allowing at some point open bids for private ownership of the current teams or allowing private ownership of any future expansion teams or is the plan to keep all of the teams under league control?

There's been plenty of fan speculation, but I haven't heard anything of substance from or around the only guy who matters (McMahon) on the long term vision.

GDAWG's rants aside, this is a guy who took WWE public and launched the original XFL in a 50-50 partnership. I doubt anything, strictly speaking, is off the table.

[MGB01]

Vince McMahon is not someone who is willing to hand control of the teams over to anyone else, so he will control all of the teams for the duration of the league, however long that is going to be. He wants to control everything, he's been known as an egomaniac who cares about nothing but himself and that is evident when he books WWE.

Nice critical thinking applied here

[Andibald]

I'd like to see some sort of team ownership in the future. Even if it's a partial ownership (investor) so there is someone who has some say in coaching and front office decisions, other than the league itself. The league can still be involved but will get input from someone who has a stake in the outcome of the decision.

https://www.xfl.com/en-US/articles/q-a- ... ioner-luck

How will the league evaluate coaches? Say a team starts 0-7, how will those decisions be made?

Luck: They’re made the same way I made them when I was running NFL Europe. It’s the same model with a centralized league with no local ownership. What we as the league have to do is step in the shoes of local ownership. What would local ownership do if you’re in Houston or Tampa and you start 0-7? Did injuries happen beyond a team’s control? Were six of those seven losses in one field goal games? There were coaches I fired in NFL Europe. I’m hesitant to say you have to win 20 percent or 30 percent of your games. You have to look at all the factors.

[MGB01]

I'd like to see some sort of team ownership in the future. Even if it's a partial ownership (investor) so there is someone who has some say in coaching and front office decisions, other than the league itself. The league can still be involved but will get input from someone who has a stake in the outcome of the decision.

https://www.xfl.com/en-US/articles/q-a- ... ioner-luck

How will the league evaluate coaches? Say a team starts 0-7, how will those decisions be made?

Luck: They’re made the same way I made them when I was running NFL Europe. It’s the same model with a centralized league with no local ownership. What we as the league have to do is step in the shoes of local ownership. What would local ownership do if you’re in Houston or Tampa and you start 0-7? Did injuries happen beyond a team’s control? Were six of those seven losses in one field goal games? There were coaches I fired in NFL Europe. I’m hesitant to say you have to win 20 percent or 30 percent of your games. You have to look at all the factors.

That's a potential landmine. People thought MLB and the NBA was corrupt when you had A)an owner ascend to commissioner, and B)a commissioner become a de facto owner.

(Especially the latter, Stern's lackey Adam Silver was seen as the strongest arm in the effort to push Sam Hinkie out. I'm strongly opposed to tanking, but you can't dictate the means of competition)

Luck needs to be careful here.

[johnnyangryfuzzball]

Has there ever been any discussion of allowing at some point open bids for private ownership of the current teams or allowing private ownership of any future expansion teams or is the plan to keep all of the teams under league control?

I know the AAF eventually planned on selling franchises. The XFL, on the other hand... I think that will remain a single entity for as long as it exists.

If Vince raises outside capital, I suspect it will be via converting Alpha Entertainment into a public company and selling shares in the league itself. (It'll probably be a Zuckerberg-style sale where he sells a majority of shares but those shares have almost no voting power so that he maintains sole control.)

[XFLGUY]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/01/26/xfl-s ... -drawbacks

According to this article I found some potential drawbacks to being a single entity owned league could be things like....

One might be fan concern that, like WWE fights, XFL games could have elements of choreography. The league owns all of the teams and employs everyone who works for those teams. With such power, the league could dictate play calling to stimulate interest in a particular game. Or the league might demand that certain players play in a particular game whereas others sit. The XFL will need to be transparent about its operations as it relates to competition and fair play. If it isn’t and if it markets a product in a deceptive way, it could run afoul of consumer protection laws and Federal Trade Commission regulations.

[Firecop]

I don't believe that Luck would be any part of a "scripted" league, at least I certainly hope not. I am also certain that whatever happens in the future, Vince will maintain at least 51% of the vote.