A group including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson paid $15M to acquire the nascent league from Vince McMahon, a former professional wrestler who’s now CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, after the league filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-April. The pandemic derailed what was largely seen as a successful showing for the hopeful NFL competitor, which introduced creative new rules to spark interest and capture football fans’ attention. RedBird Capital Partners joined Johnson and his longtime business partner, Dany Garcia, in landing the league, which branded itself as made for TV. A U.S. district judge allowed the sale in a Delaware bankruptcy court in early August 2020, and Johnson tweeted in early October that the league won’t play next year but plans to resume in 2022.
