The Rock's XFL, ESPN Announce Broadcast Agreement for 2023 Schedule

The XFL has found a new broadcast home as it prepares for its upcoming relaunch.

The pro football league, featuring an ownership group led by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners, has reached a multi-year agreement with the Walt Disney Company for ESPN to be the exclusive broadcast partner starting with the 2023 season.

The XFL is set to kick off its return on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. The schedule will feature 40 regular-season matchups, two semifinal playoff games and a championship.

The announcement of the broadcast deal coincided with Johnson and Garcia's appearance at the Disney Upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday.

"This is a definitive moment for the XFL and the beginning of an incredible, long-term partnership for the league, building on my longstanding, very successful legacy relationship I've had with Disney throughout my career," Johnson said.

The XFL was most recently active for its comeback season in 2020 under the ownership of WWE chairman Vince McMahon. The season lasted just five weeks before ceasing operations and filing for bankruptcy in April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Johnson and his ownership consortium purchased the XFL for $15 million in August 2020.

According to the release, XFL games will be broadcast on "a combination of ABC, ESPN networks and FX." The agreement also gives ESPN exclusive content rights for its digital and social platforms, including ESPN+.

"Through the combined power of Disney and the XFL, together we will create a new powerhouse on the sports calendar and bring a dynamic game of football to fans everywhere," Johnson said. "Time to ball out."