Draft, contract notes from Whaley, Giglio ITL Zoom session

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GregParks
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Draft, contract notes from Whaley, Giglio ITL Zoom session

Post by GregParks »

Russ Giglio and Doug Whaley were on another Inside the League Zoom session with agents last night, ostensibly to talk about the upcoming Rookie draft, but they touched on a lot more stuff per XFL News Hub. This is a summary of the article; when the video is posted of the session by ITL I'll watch and add anything else of importance.

https://xflnewshub.com/xfl-news/xfl-pre ... i-academy/

-The 6/16 draft will be mid-afternoon to early evening
-Contracts are being delayed due to potential unionization of players, which could possibly involved the NFLPA
-The fall draft paragraph is a little confusing to me but it sounds like they'll have TWO in the fall, one mid-September for the guys cut from training camp roster, and then another one in November
-Mark in his article mentions that the interview also covered "a potential change in the XFL schedule" though he didn't elaborate; he did mention the league is considering eliminating the bye before the Championship game, so maybe that's what he meant? Or maybe something else besides that? IDK, again, once the video is posted on YouTube, I'll give it a watch and add/clarify anything.
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GregParks
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Re: Draft, contract notes from Whaley, Giglio ITL Zoom session

Post by GregParks »



Here's the link to the full video. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet; hopefully will this afternoon.
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4th&long
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Re: Draft, contract notes from Whaley, Giglio ITL Zoom session

Post by 4th&long »

The XFL leadership just got bitch slapped (well lets say a wake up call) from RBC. They will be focusing now on external and internal potential gains and hurdles.
External - USFL existing, economic factors, and possible union.
Internal - Costs, player talent and revenue

All the rest is either to address that or fluff.

>> The interview was insightful and offered a glimpse into how the XFL is preparing for its 2024 season, focusing on player contracts, multiple drafts, a potential players’ union, and more.

It underscored the league’s commitment to supporting the players and providing them with opportunities.
<<

I don't agree with Mark here - the focus is on XFL itself and money. As I posted numerous times RBC has investors and those investors want returns - and those could care less about the Rock or DG being first woman league owner (lie anyway). Looks like RBC will be taking a more hands on view of things.

Now that they have a full baseline season under wraps they will likely be creating bench marks and goals based on how 2023 went. They will be structuring and making efforts to achieve them.

Hopefully one (if not both) of these leagues survives.
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Re: Draft, contract notes from Whaley, Giglio ITL Zoom session

Post by MGB01 »

4th&long wrote: Thu Jun 01, 2023 10:41 am The XFL leadership just got bitch slapped (well lets say a wake up call) from RBC.
And you thought that this kind of quality analysis left with Hammer, really..........................
GregParks
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Re: Draft, contract notes from Whaley, Giglio ITL Zoom session

Post by GregParks »

Some other points I found interesting after watching the video (sorry this ended up longer than I anticipated)...

-There is no "opt-in" pool for the rookie draft; all 2023 NFL draft-eligible players who are not signed to any other league are in the pool.
-Even though the offseason rosters will be at 90, they expect camp rosters will be at the 66-70 range. Because of this, not all players drafted will be guaranteed a roster spot in training camp.
-90-man rosters for the offseason include those that ended the season on injured reserve lists with the team, as well as those who are on reserve lists because they were on an NFL team or because they did not report to camp. Giglio expects the league/teams to check back in with those players about coming in next year but it sounds like they'll count on the 90-man.
-Whaley expects each team will need to add 25-35 players via the offseason drafts.
-News is still to come about 2023 draft-eligible players currently the IFL as far as their eligibility for the XFL Rookie Draft, as the XFL does have a partnership with the IFL. Whaley is going to sit down with the commissioner of the league and decide how to proceed with that.
-Rookie draft will be 10 rounds, 80 players selected.
-"Couple months" is when players drafted will be sent contracts or letters of intent based on working on the contract and the potential union situation. Whaley interjected and speculated it could be around the time they have their second draft, just so that they can send out all the contracts at once to both sets of drafted players.

-Max of 200 players will be invited to the XFL Combine, at least 100 will come from the ANC Combines, the remaining will be recommendations from DPPs and coaches.
-All drafts from now on will be open drafts - there will not be phases as in the November draft last year.
-Contracts expected to be structured similarly for '24 as '23, where it's a one-year contract with a mutual option for '25
-Same time frame for training camp; they may back camp up a week and only do four weeks. Nothing was said about a minicamp.
-Expecting between 125-200 players at the regional combines. Giglio said they signed 100 players from the combines last year and 30 made active rosters (approximate numbers).
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