Former XFL commissioner Oliver Luck is taking Vince McMahon to court, as Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic writes. Luck is seeking restitution for what he says was a wrongful termination. 
[RELATED: XFL Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy]
The XFL shut down operations in the midst of its comeback season and, recently, filed Chapter 11 to renegotiate its debts. Meanwhile, Luck was set to earn at least $20MM on the multi-year contract he signed back in 2018. McMahon’s attorney says a letter was given to Luck to explain “the reasons” for his firing. In short, Luck is set to argue that he was fired without cause; McMahon will contend that he was fired with cause and, therefore, he does not owe him anything.
Luck helped steward the league’s relaunch, even as he and McMahon watched the Alliance of American Football beat them to the punch.
“We watched them closely,” Luck said in the summer of 2019. “Personally, there was no dancing on the grave, no schadenfreude. I was hoping they’d make it through their championship game. … It’s helped us a little bit, reaffirmed our model. The AAF also made some mistakes. (The Apollos), in the sports business, that’s like a pilot forgetting to turn the engine on.”
The XFL has laid off all of its employees with no current plans to resume operations, so this could be the last we see of the experimental league. However, McMahon may have lots of legal filings and court dates ahead of him – that’s usually the way things go for companies that file bankruptcy.
Luck, the father of Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, should be able to land on his feet once the dust settles. After earning his law degree, Luck held key positions in the NFL, NCAA, and MLS.
Former Colts quarterback Andrew Luck
I thought Mr Luck was employed by the now bankrupt enterprise, not Mr McMahon personally. Just move on….
I’m no lawyer but having no league seems like “just cause” for terminating a commissioner…lol. Just what did Oliver think he would be getting paid $20M to do with no league in existence?
Just cause is a legal term meaning that Luck had violated the terms of his employment agreement or contract. The fact that the league filed for bankruptcy doesn’t relieve Mc Mahon of his obligation to pay Luck.
Vinnie Mac is going to try to stall as long as he can and try to settle for a fraction of what Luck is owed.
Thanks for the explanation. I don’t see how someone cannot violate such an agreement or contract if the entity involved is dissolved on them. Curious as to how this would apply to an average Joe. Say for example Walmart agrees to hire you but at the 11th hour they decide they would rather have a store in China than your home town. Are you still owed money?
Anyone thinking they were going to get a full 20mil from McMahon for work with the XFL was goofy. Luck represented nothing more than a man with a credible track record
perfect picture of McMahon trade rumors
Certainly better than this picture of Goodell (who appears to have been sampling Josh Gordon’s stash all day).
link to profootballrumors.com
You’re Fiiiiirrrrrrellllgghhhd!