The XFL became the latest U.S. pro sports league to alter its schedule due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The alternative football league canceled the remainder of its 2020 season due to the coronavirus, but a statement from the league said it planned to return in 2021.
“Currently, the XFL will not be playing its regular season games,” the league’s statement said. “However, all players will be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season. All XFL ticket-holders will be issued refunds or credit towards future games. The XFL is committed to playing a full season in 2021 and future years.”
The XFL became the first league to address what pro athletes in many other leagues are thinking amid the coronavirus-related cancellations: whether they will still be paid while games aren’t being contested.
The XFL also committed to opening a second season and perhaps more, a year after the Alliance of American Football, a similar springtime football league, folded before the end of its first season due to financial trouble.
The league followed all major professional and college sports bodies — the NBA, MLB, MLS, NHL and NCAA — to postpone or cancel games Wednesday and Thursday.
XFL statementhttps://t.co/MbuHgUmzmZ pic.twitter.com/PIZLOl1fld
— XFL (@xfl2020) March 12, 2020
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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