How Much Money The XFL Has Already Paid WWE
In late 2017 there were rumblings that Vince McMahon was considering a revival of the XFL. In January of 2018, McMahon made it official and the league is entirely owned by Alpha Entertainment which is owned by McMahon and shares office space with WWE.
That marks a departure from the first version of XFL which was equally co-owned by WWE and by NBC. McMahon established Alpha to completely separate the XFL from the WWE this time around.
But that doesn't mean that the two companies won't work together and that is evident by recent SEC filings. They note just how much money is exchanging between WWE and Alpha/XFL and also detail the arrangement between the two"
"As previously announced, Vincent McMahon organized and owns a majority of Alpha Entertainment, LLC ("Alpha"), which owns and operates the professional football league XFL. Under arrangements made at the time of its organization, WWE received, among other things, an equity interest in Alpha without payment by, or other financial obligation on the part of, WWE; WWE sold certain intellectual property rights relating to XFL to Alpha for a payment in the amount of $1 million; and WWE entered into a support services agreement under which WWE provides Alpha certain administrative support services on a cost-plus margin basis. During the year ended December 31, 2018, Alpha was billed approximately $1,305,000 for services under the administrative support services agreement, of which $474,000 was due at year end and subsequently paid."
In summary:
- WWE sold intellectual property rights to Alpha for $1 million
- Alpha was billed over $1.3 million for WWE providing administrative support
- Alpha paid WWE $474,000 for that administrative support
While the XFL does have its own Careers page on its website, WWE also has a job posting for an XFL position on its website. This could be part of the services agreement between WWE and Alpha/XFL as the latter gets up and running.
So, even though Alpha Entertainment was created to keep the XFL's operations separate from WWE, the XFL is still leaning on its big brother named World Wrestling Entertainment.
Will Claggett contributed to this article.