Vince McMahon Sells Roughly $270M in WWE Stock to Fund XFL, Alpha Entertainment

Vince McMahon continues to make financial moves in anticipation of the XFL's relaunch next year.  

Per WWE's official filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (h/t PW Insider's Mike Johnson), McMahon sold 3,204,427 shares of his stock in the wrestling promotion worth approximately $270 million:

"The shares sold by Mr. McMahon represent approximately 4.1 percent of the Company’s total outstanding shares of Class A and Class B common stock. After the sale, Mr. McMahon beneficially owns 28,682,94 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, which represents approximately 80.1 percent of the Company’s total voting power and approximately 36.8 percent of the Company’s total outstanding shares of common stock."

McMahon has been selling off shares of his WWE stock over the past two years when he started Alpha Entertainment, the organization that owns the XFL. 

Wednesday represents the largest sale amount in terms of dollars by the WWE chairman. He previously sold 3.34 million shares of his stock worth around $100 million in December 2017. 

McMahon also sold off 306,000 shares last November to net more than $23 million. 

Darren Rovell reported for ESPN.com last June that McMahon is expecting to spend around $500 million in the XFL's first three seasons. 

Even though that is a large chunk of change, McMahon has a lot of room to maneuver. Forbes estimates the 73-year-old has a net worth of $3.3 billion. 

The original XFL was one of the biggest financial disasters in sports history, costing NBC and WWE an estimated $70 million for its lone season in 2001. 

The rebooted XFL will return in February 2020 with Oliver Luck serving as league commissioner. Four of the league's eight teams have already hired head coaches, including former Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops coming out of retirement to take over the Dallas organization.