The Rock Talks XFL After League's Reported $60M Loss in 2023: 'This Is the Long Game'

With the XFL set to return for a second season in 2024, the revamped league is already more successful than the vast majority of upstarts that pop up during the NFL's offseason.

However, Dwayne Johnson and the rest of the XFL's ownership group aren't planning for just a one or two-year wonder. They see this venture as a long-term project that they hope to continue improving, even amid substantial financial losses, according to Forbes' Jabari Young.

"This is not just an endeavor that's going to fill up a portfolio and one day we flip it and we're out," Johnson told Young. "This is legacy. This is the long game."

The XFL lost about $60 million in its first year under Johnson's ownership and had to cut some jobs, according to Young. However, next season looks to be much more profitable as the league is projected to make about $100 million in revenue.

A good portion of its income, about 25 percent, comes from ESPN, its broadcast partner.

"We're extremely well-capitalized for the long-term," Dany Garcia, XFL chair and Johnson's long-time business partner said. "This is our new WWE. The next massive live property."

Partnering with Disney and RedBird Capital, Garcia and Johnson bought the XFL—which was in bankruptcy—for $23.5 million in 2020 and took control through a joint venture holding company, Alpha Acquico.

The purchase also included $8.5 million to pay off previous XFL debt.

Of its three iterations, this is the first time that the XFL survives its first season. Both previous endeavors in 2001 and 2020, led by WWE chairman Vince McMahon, folded despite initially looking promising.

With Disney—and therefore ESPN—as its partner, the XFL got decent viewership in 2023, averaging 627,000 viewers per game over the regular-season and 1.4 million for the league's championship game.

Johnson and the rest of the ownership will now look to build off some of that success and avoid becomi.