The AAF is no more. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be anymore spring football, as the XFL is preparing to start up early next year. Vince McMahon’s reincarnation of the XFL will be the latest league that looks to supplement fans’ need for pro football. The original XFL debuted in 2001, and lasted just one season. To stand out this time around, they’ll be adding some new innovative rule changes. One of those is adding a three-point conversion, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Teams in the XFL will have the opportunity to go for one, two or three points after a touchdown. The one-point conversion will be from the two-yard line, the two-point conversion will be from the five-yard line, and the three-point conversion will be from the ten-yard line.
It’s an interesting new wrinkle, and means that any time the score is within nine points it’ll still be a one-possession game. While the demise of the AAF will serve as a warning for future spring leagues, the XFL has the potential to be different. McMahon has very deep pockets, and seems willing to spend a fortune to ensure the league succeeds. With his presence, it’s unlikely the league will have any of the immediate financial trouble that the AAF had.
Here’s more from around the football universe:
- There’s been a lot of talk over the past year about the league’s CBA and the potential for a work stoppage. Owners are widely seen as having won the last round of negotiations, and players will be making much stronger demands this time around. Many believe the owners won’t be willing to meet those demands, which could cause another lockout. But the two sides apparently made some progress in their first round of negotiating meetings earlier this week, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Graziano writes that people involved in the negotiations “believe the owners would like to get a new deal in place prior to the start of the 2019 season.”
- In a separate tweet, Graziano notes that the fact they’re making progress with this far to go is a positive sign. The current CBA runs through the 2020 season, so we’re still a ways out. “They’re engaging the players in talks with two seasons left, which “indicates a possibility (though not a certainty) that this could be done without a work stoppage,” Graziano writes. Players are likely to seek significant concessions on issues like the guarantees in contracts, and owners have been unwilling to budge in the past. Ultimately players were unwilling to forego any game checks last time around, and it’ll be very interesting to see how far they’re willing to go this time. For what it’s worth, a potential work stoppage could play right into the hands of a league like the XFL.
- In case you missed it, Reuben Foster won’t be suspended by the league for his latest domestic violence incident, for which charges were dropped.