I imagined it’s like the difference between rugby union and rugby sevens (ie one is more established and one is a little newer, flasher and quicker) but can’t find any confirmation.

11 comments

  2. The basic rules are essentially the same with minor procedural differences. The NFL is king and will always be. The XFL (and USFL) are trying to survive as spring leagues that play in the NFL’s offseason. The USFL was a thing in the ’80s that was decently successful until they decided to move their schedule to the fall to go against the NFL directly.

  4. XFL is the latest in a series of leagues that attempt to survive as a spring league for American Football.

    I honestly don’t see it surviving, the path is littered with corpses, AAF, USF, USFL, FXFL, original XFL.

  5. The XFL bills itself as an “extreme” football league — faster and more violent. It was originally founded in 2001 as a joint venture with the WWE (pro wrestling), and along those lines was initially built around big personalities, staged feuds, scantily clad cheerleaders, shouting commentators, etc.

    It initially lasted for one season, in 2001. It was brought back in 2020, and (due to COVID) lasted *less than* one season. They’re trying again in 2023, I think this time with some of the pro wrestling-inspired excesses toned down; it remains to be seen whether it’ll go any better.

    Basically, at this point I wouldn’t give it any credence as a true competitor to the NFL, or view it as a comparison between rugby union and rugby sevens. It’s a novelty at the moment, nothing more.

  6. One thing no one is pointing out is all the players in the XFL and USFL have been cut from NFL teams and this is their way to try to make it back or at least earn a few bucks while they still can. The talent level is significantly less than that of the NFL, though there will be a few recognizable names here and there

  7. The NFL is the highest level and is played fall- winter

    The XFL and USFL are more like a unaffiliated minor league and is played spring-summer

    There are a few quirky rules in the XFL but overall it’s still the same basic game of football.

    The major difference is the level of skill of the players. The XFL will be made up of guys who got cut by NFL teams or college football players who were great in college but did not get picked up by NFL teams.

    Ideally the XFL should feature better players than college football and serve as a second chance league for players trying to make it to the NFL. I however think it will several years to build a brand identity to accomplish this.

    Unfortunately, most Non-NFL leagues collapse quickly with the exceptions of the Canadian league which has been going on for about 60 years, and the Arena Football League which lasted about 20 years before it folded.

  8. The NFL = The National Rugby League

    The XFL = A startup league with some minor tweaks to rules.

    The NFL is a multibillion dollar industry with 32 teams throughout the country each worth between $2-6 billion dollars with decades of history.

    The XFL is 8 teams, owned by The Rock.

  9. I did some quick googling and it looks like your analogy is pretty accurate. (For the purposes of this comment, when I say “football” I’m referring to gridiron, or American, football.)

    The National Football League (NFL) has held a monopoly on professional football in America since the sixties, when they merged with the American Football League. Since then, there have been several attempts to challenge them, but all have come and gone.

    The XFL (eXtreme Football League) was founded many years ago by WWE owner Vince McMahon as a new challenger to the NFL’s monopoly. It’s had a few false starts, trying to launch a season but failing to draw the viewers and revenue necessary to make it viable. The most recent attempt was right before COVID happened, which was just terrible luck. McMahon recently sold the company to someone else, who is launching it yet again.

    XFL football has essentially the same rules as NFL football, with some very small exceptions. For example, in NFL football, after a touchdown is scored (by one team moving the ball to the end of the field) they can either try to score another touchdown for two points (called a two-point conversion) or they can kick an extra point. In XFL football, there’s no extra point kick. The team who scores has the choice to try to score again from the two-yard line for one extra point, the five-yard line for two extra points, or the ten-yard line for *three* extra points. It’s an interesting rule that introduces some crazy strategy.

    Also, the NFL for a long time has acted kind of like gambling was a dirty word that they couldn’t talk about. The XFL does *not give a fuck.* The other night, one of the announcers described a play and said, “Some people are going to be really happy about that.” Another announcer said, “You can just say it.” And the first announcer responded, “The over. I’m talking about the over.”

  11. Let’s put it this way: I have watched hundreds of NFL games in my decades on Earth, but have never once watched even one second of an XFL game.

Leave a Reply
You May Also Like