Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson Leads Winning Bid to Acquire the XFL

The ex-WWE superstar has purchased the XFL in partnership with his business partner Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners.

License Global

August 3, 2020

Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and RedBird Capital Partners have been selected as the winning bidders to acquire the XFL and its parent company Alpha Entertainment.

The winning bid was netted for approximately $15 million. The transfer of assets is planned to be finalized by Aug. 21 following bankruptcy court approval. The acquisition affords the winning bidders the ability to option XFL assets for further expansion across sports, live events and entertainment programming.

Garcia and Johnson are co-founders of global entertainment company Seven Bucks Companies. The duo’s company has previously produced films, television and podcasts. Recent success stories for Seven Buck’s includes “Jumanji: The Next Level,” “The Titan Games” and the upcoming Disney feature “Jungle Cruise.”

With my trail blazing partner
@DanyGarciaCo
& Red Bird Capital, we have acquired the XFL.
With gratitude & passion I’ve built a career with my own two hands and will apply these callouses to our
@xfl2020
brand.
Excited to create something special for the fans!
#XFL

#fullcircle

pic.twitter.com/LprJ6HjglD
— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock)
August 3, 2020

Seven Bucks deal is in partnership with Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner, RedBird Capital Partners. Cardinale and his company come to the XFL with a wealth of experience in the sports space. He has helped to

build successful sports rights holders, including the YES Network with the New York Yankees and Legends Hospitality with the Yankees and Dallas Cowboys.

“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things - my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” says Johnson. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”

The XFL was forced to file for bankruptcy in April. It canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic after only five games. Cancellation of the season came after the XFL was rebooted in 2018. The football league was started initially in 2001 by Vince McMahon, the founder of the WWE.

“We are grateful for today’s outcome,” adds Jeffrey Pollack, president and chief operating officer, XFL. “This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and it is an exciting new chapter for the league. Dwayne, Dany and Gerry are a dream team ownership group and the XFL is in the best possible hands going forward.”

Before filing for bankruptcy, the XFL saw early gains in the licensing realm. The league inked a