You may wonder if former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is good enough to play in the newly relaunched XFL football league since he has basically been left out of the NFL. The short answer is yes, but, the league just can’t afford to pay him, according to Yahoo Sports.
The league is a reincarnation of the much-hyped XFL, which first debuted in 2001 by WWE’s Vince McMahon and recently returned revitalized last week. XFL commissioner Oliver Luck, who happens to be the father of former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck, spoke to National Public Radio (NPR) about the chance to bring in the controversial Kaepernick
to play in the XFL.“We gave it some thought. We have some pretty significant salary restrictions, you know. We’re a start-up league, so we want to make sure that we can be fiscally responsible and fiscally prudent. And the, you know, salary requirements that some folks, you know, shared with us were in our case exorbitant, so we, you know, couldn’t go down that path, Luck told NPR.
Because the league is starting over, the salaries wouldn’t be close to what players earn in the NFL. After reaching out to Kaepernick’s representatives, it was determined that the league wouldn’t be able to afford to pay him what he wanted. “I’m saying that we spoke with his representative, and the salary requirements that were broached in that conversation were exorbitant and certainly out of our range.”
According to the league’s website:
Starting February 8, 2020, our eight teams will play a 10-week regular season and a two-week postseason consisting of two semifinal playoff games and a championship game on April 26.
Our season lasts just 79 days and will be a non-stop sprint from the first kick to the last down. Along the way, fans will experience a league built on three core principles:
- FAN-FIRST. We love our fans and want what they want. The XFL is a league that listens.
- ULTRA-ACCESSIBLE. We get fans close to the game in fun and imaginative ways.
- TRUE TO THE GAME. We are faithful to the foundations of football. Never different just to be different. No gimmicks. Ever.”