2023 XFL Season

The 2023 XFL Season was the fourth season of the revived XFL and the first under the new ownership group of Sxm Sports. It will be the fifth season of the XFL overall, including the 2001 XFL Season originally created by the old XFL owner Vince McMahon. The Regular Season begun on February 18th 2023. There was multiple player combine's held in July and August 2022 at The Dome at Americas Center in St Louis. The 2023 XFL Draft was held in November. Training Camp begun on January 8th 2023 and finished on February 12th 2023.

## 2023 XFL Season

### Duration

February 18 - April 23 Playoffs: April 29 - May 6

### TV Partners

Sxm Sports, Sxm Sports 2, International Sports, SXMTV, FBTV

## Background

The 2023 XFL Season is going to be the fourth season of the XFL. However it will be the first season under a new ownership. The 2020 XFL Season played its first 5 weeks with fans and then the rest of the season got suspended but continued in June 2020 behind closed doors. The 2021 XFL Season played its full season behind closed doors. The 2022 XFL Season was shortened due to the players strike. Sxm Sports and the XFL Players Union reached an agreement up until 2026.

When Sxm Sports bought the league on 6 May 2022, they confirmed the season would start on February 18th 2023. They held player combines at The Dome at Americas Center in June/July 2022 and released the teams in October and the Draft in November and releasing the schedule in January 2023.

## Teams

On May 14th 2022, Sxm Sports confirmed that some teams from the previous XFL seasons would be in XFL 2023. The XFL also were alleged to have discussed with San Antonio on having a team at the Alamodome. San Antonio hosted the Commanders in the 2019 AAF Season.

On June 16th 2022, Sxm Sports confirmed that the 8 cities for the XFL 2023 would be Seattle, Dallas, Houston, DC, Tampa Bay and St Louis, which hosted teams in XFL 2020, 2021 and 2022. Sxm Sports then confirmed that Orlando and San Antonio would have teams which would replace Los Angeles Wildcats and New York Guardians.

On June 20th 2022, Sxm Sports confirmed that The Dome at Americas Center would host games for XFL 2023 and that it would be the site of the 2023 XFL Championship.

On July 24th 2022, Sxm Sports announced the 8 stadiums for 2023 and said that St Louis would be the Headquarters for the XFL. The 8 stadiums are: Lumen Field, Toyota Stadium, NRG Stadium, Audi Field, Raymond James Stadium, The Dome at Americas Center, Camping World Stadium and Alamodome.

On August 16th 2022, Sxm Sports confirmed that Dallas would be Frisco instead as they would be in Frisco.

On October 31st 2022, the XFL confirmed the 8 teams: Seattle Dragons, Frisco Renegades, DC Defenders, Tampa Bay Vipers and St Louis Battlehawks from the XFL 2020, 2021 and 2022. They then confirmed the Houston Oilers would replace the Houston Roughnecks. They also confirmed that the Orlando Rage from the first XFL (2001) would be one of the teams. San Antonio would be the San Antonio Tigers.

When the league released the schedule on January 5th 2023, they confirmed the 2 divisions. Which would be East and West. The East would have DC Defenders, St Louis Battlehawks, Orlando Rage and Tampa Bay Vipers while the West would have Frisco Renegades, Houston Oilers, San Antonio Tigers and Seattle Dragons.

## Rule Changes

In December 2022, Sxm Sports confirmed most of the rules from the XFL from 2020-2022 will stay the same, with a couple of changes.

* Kickoffs will be at the 35 yard line, but the rest of the Kickoff rules remain the same. The same will be applied for punts.
* There will be 3 time outs per half.
* Overtime Shootout will be a best of 5
* Coaches can challenge twice. If the play isnt overturned after a challenge, the coach's team will be charged with a timeout. Coaches must have timeouts in order to challenge
* Instead of an onside kick, there will be a 4th & 15 from their own 35. If they get the 1st down their offense comes back on the field where they got downed. If they fail, it will be the other teams ball from where the ball was spotted
* There will be a sky cam (as used before in AAF and XFL previously) which will have all replays for challenges and booth reviews.
* There will be 3 scoring options that will be an offensive play: 1 Point Attempt from 2 yard line, 2 Point Attempt from 5 yard line, 3 Point Attempt from 10 yard line.
* The Playclock will be set to 35 seconds

## Players

Following the Supplemental Draft on January 1st 2023, the XFL confirmed that each team will have a maximum of 60 players on a roster with a minimum of 50. They also confirmed that 20 players would be eligible on the practise squad.

### Compensation

The XFL confirmed in December 2022 that players would get a minimum of $5,000 per week that doesn't include tax. Game winners get a bonus of $1,000. For the Playoffs, winners get a bonus of $5,000 and losers get a bonus of $1,000. For the 2023 XFL Championship, Winners get a bonus of $10,000 and losers get a bonus of $5,000.

### Partnerships

#### NFL Europe

On 12th February 2023, Sxm Sports confirmed the XFL signed a partnership with NFL Europe.

#### CFL

On 13th February 2023, Sxm Sports confirmed that the XFL would also sign a partnership with the CFL. Each league would work together on players safety and possible new rules.

## Draft

*Main Article: 2023 XFL Draft*

The 2023 XFL Draft took place in mid November 2022. The rounds were based on positions. It started with Round 1 having QBs. There were typically 2-5 picks per team in each round. There was then a supplemental draft on January 1 2023. The Battlehawks got the first picks in each round because of a draw. Lorenzo Bullock was selected by the Battlehawks.

## Season Structure

### Preseason

XFL began Training Camp on January 8th 2023, with it running until February 12th 2023. Each team would practise in areas across St Louis, with the Battlehawks practicing at The Dome at Americas Center. The League also allowed teams to hold informal scrimmage matches at each teams training camp, while official scrimmages were held at The Dome at Americas Center on January 28/29.

On February 1st 2023, the XFL also confirmed the same places will be for teams to practice in 2024 and 2025.

Each Teams Practice for 2023 are as follows:

* St Louis Battlehawks - The Dome at Americas Center
* DC Defenders - St. Mary’s High School Football/Soccer Field
* Frisco Renegades - SLUH Football Field
* Houston Oilers - Hermann Stadium
* Orlando Rage - Bayless Field
* San Antonio Tigers - SLU Medical Center Stadium
* Seattle Dragons - Francis Olympic Field
* Tampa Bay Vipers - Lindbergh High School JV Football Field

### Regular Season

The Regular Season lasted 10 weeks with each team will play a 10 game schedule with no bye weeks. Each team will play divisional opponents twice (one home and one away) and play non divisional opponents once. Each team will play 5 home games and 5 away games. The league is divided into the East and West Divisions. The East includes DC, Orlando, St Louis and Tampa Bay. While the West includes Frisco, Houston, San Antonio, Seattle.

### Playoffs

The top 2 in each division qualified for the playoffs. The Playoffs will last 2 weeks and will have 3 games. The winners of each division will get to host the playoff match against the runners up of the division in the Division Championships. The winners of the Divisional Championships will qualify for the 2023 XFL Championship, which was be played on Saturday 6th May at The Dome at Americas Center.

## Standings

X = Clinch Playoffs Y = Clinch Division E = Eliminated

### Race for Playoffs

#### Week 7

- Orlando Rage eliminated from Playoff Contention after their 32-14 loss to Frisco Renegades

#### Week 8

- San Antonio Tigers were first team to clinch a playoff birth after their 26-20 win against the Houston Oilers. The Houston Oilers are also eliminated from the Playoffs

- San Antonio Tigers clinched the division after the Frisco Renegades beat the Seattle Dragons

- DC Defenders and St Louis Battlehawks clinched a playoff birth after the Tampa Bay Vipers lost to the Orlando Rage

- Tampa Bay Vipers eliminated from Playoff Contention after their 19-14 loss to Tampa Bay Vipers

#### Week 10

- DC Defenders clinched the division after a 36-10 win vs Orlando Rage

- Seattle Dragons clinched a playoff birth after their 28-14 win vs Houston Oilers and the Renegades 22-21 loss to the San Antonio Tigers

- Frisco Renegades eliminated from Playoff Contention after their 22-21 loss to San Antonio Tigers

## Schedule

### Preseason

On July 24th 2022, the XFL and Sxm Sports confirmed the Head Quarters for the League would be at St Louis. Every team would have Training Camp and they would practise and also play scrimmage matches. The Battlehawks would practise at The Dome at Americas Center while the other Seven teams would practise at other areas across St Louis.

On January 22, the XFL confirmed each team would play one preseason match against teams in the other division as a chance for the networks to trial runs for broadcasting. All games will be played behind closed doors at The Dome at Americas Center as part of Training Camp which concludes in February.

### Regular Season

The League released the full schedule on January 5th 2023. Each team will play 10 games, with no bye week. They would play their divisional opponents twice (one home and one away) and would play non divisional opponents once. The season would start with a Texas Rivalry, Oilers at Renegades. All games would also be available on Sxm Sports+ unless noted.

### Playoffs

The Playoffs are set to begin on April 29 with the Eastern Championship then on April 30 with the Western Championship. The Playoffs will conclude on May 6 with the 2023 XFL Championship. The Division Championships will be hosted at who finished 1st in the Divisions. The Championship will be at The Dome at Americas Center in St Louis.

#### Division Championship

(millions)
 April 29, 7:00pm ET
 April 30, 3:00pm ET

#### League Championship

(millions)
 May 6, 3:00pm ET

## Awards

### Players of the Week

A week prior to the start of the season, the XFL introduced the Players of the Week Award, in which 1 player from every position would get every week.

## League Finances

In June 2022, the XFL confirmed that Sxm Sports had purchased the league for $250 million and funded the same amount for the 2023 XFL Season. The league's main sources of profit will be TV, Tickets and Merchandise. Sxm Sports confirmed on 13th February that an additional $100 million will be funded to the XFL for 2023 if needed, and any spare would be transfered to funds for the XFL in 2024. Ticket prices are $10 for Juniors while it is $15 for adults which applies for all 8 teams, as it was set by Sxm Sports in November 2022.

### Business Partnerships

The XFL has a partnership with Under Armour for its sporting equipment and a partnership with Ticketmaster to sell tickets. The XFL also had a parntership with its owners, Sxm Sports, to broadcast and to manage the league. The league also signed a 3-year deal with St Louis and The Dome at Americas Center to be the centralized hub for the XFL, where all teams will practice during Preseason and where XFL meetings will take place.

## Broadcasting

In September 2022, the XFL confirmed that their owners, Sxm Sports, will carry all 43 XFL games on Sxm Sports, Sxm Sports 2, International Sports, SXMTV and FBTV, with the deal running until 2026. The 5 TV channels would be: Sxm Sports, Sxm Sports 2, International Sports, SXMTV and FBTV. They would carry all 43 XFL games. The deal runs until 2026. The league schedule got released on January 5th 2023. Sxm Sports will broadcast 11 games, including the 2023 XFL Championship. Sxm Sports 2 will broadcast 7 games. International Sports will broadcast 9 games including the East Championship. SXMTV will broadcast 8 games including the West Championship and FBTV will broadcast 6 games. All games are avaliable on Sxm Sports+ as confirmed by the XFL via Twitter. On 13th January 2023, Sxm Sports confirmed that there would be Extended Highlights on their youtube channel, and all the Playoff games would be streamed on the YouTube channel too. Smaller highlights will be available on the XFL channel while extended highlights were available on Sxm Sports.

### International Broadcasters

On 23rd January 2023, Sxm Sports confirmed that XFL on Sxm Sports would be available in US and Canada, also will be available in the UK but was also on BT Sport. On February 12th 2023, Sxm Sports confirmed BT Sport would carry XFL games in the United Kingdom as a 2-year deal for 2023 and 2024. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Sport1 will broadcast the XFL for 2023 and 2024. On 13th February 2023, Sxm Sports confirmed in France, TF1 will carry XFL games for the 2023 Season. As part of a 3 year deal between Sxm Sports and TSN, TSN will broadcast games for parts of Canada, as Sxm Sports broadcasts CFL in some parts of Canada.

## Reception

The new XFL era kicked off on Saturday 18th February 2023 between the Houston Oilers at Frisco Renegades. It was played at Toyota Stadium in a sold out attendance of 20,500. The Battlehawks and Tigers got over 30,000 in their first game. The Battlehawks second game against the Tigers also got a league record of 34,000+ fans. Attendances in DC have also been decent, filling up at least half of the stadium. Orlando's first game got 12,000 which was decent for their first game in the stadium. The XFL faced criticism for putting a team in Tampa Bay and in Week 2, under 10,000 attended the Vipers first home game of the new era.

The ratings for Week 1 were decent. The first game saw over 4 million people tune in while a total of 13.67 million viewers, making an average of 3.4 million viewers per game. Week 2 ratings slightly dipped but still had very good ratings, with the Battlehawks-Tigers Week 2 game hitting over 5 million viewers. Week 2 got an average of 2.6 million viewers per game with a total of 10.41 million viewers. Week 3 saw a slight dip as 8.56 million viewers tuned in to an XFL game in Week 3 with an average of 2.1 million viewers per game.

In Week 6, St Louis hosted their third game of the season, breaking their own previous record in Week 2, over 38,000 fans attended the Week 6 games.

The 2023 XFL Playoffs had expectations for attendances and tv ratings, according to Sxm Sports. The 2023 XFL Championship broke multiple Spring League Records, such as Attendance, 62,600 Fans attended the XFL Championship Game. In terms of TV, 8.68 million viewers tuned in, another record for one single game.

## References

1. ↑ 2023 XFL Season: New Ownership
2. ↑ Road to XFL 2023: Combine, Draft and Training Camp
3. ↑ XFL Players Union reaches an agreement with Sxm Sports which will last until 2026
4. ↑ New XFL ownership Sxm Sports confirms 2023 XFL Season Kickoff Date, February 18th 2023
5. ↑ The road to XFL Kickoff: Heres how the new ownership have done so far
6. ↑ Sxm Sports confirms 8 XFL cities for the 2023 Season
7. ↑ Sxm Sports confirms that 2023 XFL Championship will be at The Dome at Americas Center
8. ↑ Sxm Sports announces 8 stadiums for 2023 XFL Season
9. ↑ XFL HQ will be in St Louis, confirmed by Sxm Sports
10. ↑ Dallas XFL team to be Frisco instead due to the team playing at Toyota Stadium for 2023.
11. ↑ XFL confirms their teams for the 2023 Season.
12. ↑ XFL release their 8 teams for 2023 Season: New Teams include the Oilers, Rage and Tigers while Vipers, Defenders, Renegades, Battlehawks and Dragons remain the same.
13. ↑ XFL confirms divisions for 2023 Season
14. ↑ XFL confirms 2023 Roster Size
15. ↑ XFL confirms Compensation for 2023
16. ↑ XFL signs a partnership with NFL Europe as they work on Player Safety
17. ↑ XFL and CFL to sign a partnership
18. ↑ XFL-CFL Partnership: What is included in the Partnership
19. ↑ XFL 2023 Draft and Supplemental Draft Results
20. ↑ XFL teams finalise their 53-man roster following the Supplemental Draft
21. ↑ XFL 2023: Battlehawks draft Lorenzo Bullock first overall
22. ↑ XFL Training Camp 2023: Where will the teams practice in St Louis?
23. ↑ Orlando Rage first team to be eliminated from Playoffs
24. ↑ Tigers 26 Oilers 20 XFL Week 8: Tigers clinch playoff birth while Oilers eliminated from playoffs
25. ↑ 2023 XFL Playoffs: San Antonio Tigers clinch Division after Renegades beat the Dragons
26. ↑ DC Defenders and St Louis Battlehawks to meet in the North Division Championship after Vipers 19-14 loss to the Rage
27. ↑ DC Defenders clinch North Division, will host St Louis Battlehawks
28. ↑ Tigers 22 Renegades 21: Thriller Finale in XFL Regular Season as Seattle clinch after Renegades missed Field Goal
29. ↑ 2023 XFL: XFL confirms scrimmage matches
30. ↑ 2023 XFL Preseason: XFL confirms 2 preseason matches per team in St Louis
31. ↑ XFL releases schedule for 2023 Season. Renegades-Oilers to kickoff 2023 Season
32. ↑ 2023 XFL Kickoff Game: Oilers at Renegades
33. ↑ XFL announces playoff schedule for 2023
34. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 1
35. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 2
36. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 3
37. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 4
38. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 5
39. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 6
40. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 7
41. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 8
42. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 9
43. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 10
44. ↑ XFL Player Awards: Week 11 (Divisional Championships)
45. ↑ 2023 XFL Championship: 2 Battlehawks and 1 Tigers players in Players of the Week
46. ↑ Sam Hart, Tigers HC, wins Coach of the Year for the 2023 Season
47. ↑ Eric Dungey, Tigers QB wins XFL Offensive Player of the Week
48. ↑ Tim Morton of the DC Defenders win Defensive Player of the year for the 2023 Season
49. ↑ St Louis Battlehawks Kicker Landon Bullard is Special Teams POTY for 2023 Season
50. ↑ Battlehawks QB Lorenzo Bullock wins MVP for 2023 XFL Season
51. ↑ Sxm Sports to fund $250 million for XFL for 2023 and beyond
52. ↑ How will the XFL make profit for 2023?
53. ↑ Sxm Sports to add extra funding to XFL for 2023 and 2024
54. ↑ XFL Ticket Prices 2023
55. ↑ XFL: Under Armour and Ticketmaster Official Partners of the XFL
56. ↑ Sxm Sports owns the XFL, what do they do as owners?
57. ↑ XFL: St Louis to be the centralized hub of the XFL for 2023, 2024 and 2025.
58. ↑ XFL: St Louis to hold preseason and meetings for 2023 until 2025
59. ↑ Sxm Sports to broadcast 2023 XFL Season until 2026
60. ↑ XFL Sxm Sports new deal
61. ↑ Sxm Sports to broadcast XFL until 2026, per reports
62. ↑ XFL 2023 Schedule: Broadcasting
63. ↑ Sxm Sports to broadcast 2023 XFL Championship.
64. ↑ Sxm Sports+ to carry all 43 XFL games for 2023
65. ↑ Sxm Sports confirms XFL Highlights will be avaliable on Youtube, and LIVE Playoff games will be.
66. ↑ Sxm Sports confirms XFL will be available in majority of Europe + Canada and US
67. ↑ XFL and BT Sport sign a 2 year deal for the XFL to be carried on BT
68. ↑ XFL sign a deal with Sport1 for Germany, Austria and Switzerland
69. ↑ XFL will be in France for 2023
70. ↑ Sxm Sports and TSN sign a 3 year deal for TSN to broadcast XFL and Sxm Sports to broadcast games in the CFL
71. ↑ XFL 2023 Week 2: Battlehawks attendance of 34,000+ is a new record in all seasons of the XFL, including 2001.
72. ↑ Did the XFL make a mistake putting a team in Tampa Bay?
73. ↑ XFL Week 1 ratings got a total of 13.67 million viewers and an average of 3.4 million.
74. ↑ Battlehawks break their own record within 3 weeks
75. ↑ 2023 XFL Playoffs: What to expect
76. ↑ 2023 XFL Championship broke records! Attendance, TV and more!