Dwayne Johnson, who bought the XFL in August from WWE impresario Vince McMahon, teased that he won't be a hands-off owner.
Recently, Johnson posted a photo on Instagram of himself in an exercise room looking at a rack of free weights, wearing a weight belt with the XFL logo. "Maybe I’ll be the first owner in pro football history to actually suit up and play in the game," he wrote. Johnson also said that his priority as an owner is to "create opportunities for players to live out their dreams, feed their families and ball out - XFL style."
The XFL, an eight-team spring football league, launched in 2001, lasting one season. McMahon revived it in 2020, but it canceled its season in March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and filed for bankruptcy in April. Johnson was in an investor group that bought the league in August for $15 million.
Johnson's ambitions in football are long-lasting. He was a football star at the University of Miami, but his pro career in the Canadian Football League lasted only two months. He then turned to a career in wrestling, becoming a WWE star, which opened the door to his acting career. Johnson's roles have included a football coach in 2006's Gridiron Gang in 2006 and a quarterback in 2008's The Game Plan. He starred in HBO's Ballers from 2015-2019 as a retired NFL player turned sports financial manager who becomes a team owner in the series finale.