The XFL is reportedly following in the footsteps of other major sports organizations by suspending their remainder of the season.
Sources told Pro Football Talk that the XFL told players the suspension would be taking effect. Although the league still plans to play a championship game, likely based on current standings (via Charean Williams of PFT):
The XFL was one of the only professional leagues not to make a decision on its season. It now has. Multiple sources tell PFT that the league has informed its players that it is suspending play.
The league will attempt to play at least the championship game in a few weeks, one source added.
The league has played five weeks of a 10-week schedule. The postseason schedule has semifinal games on April 18-19 with the final in Houston on April 26.
Obviously, this is tough news for the XFL in its first season back. But it is unlikely there were many alternatives given what has transpired in the sporting world in the last two days.
The league had already been struggling to get off the ground, with viewership plummeting in nearly each of the first five weeks of the regular season. The opening week hinted at a potentially burgeoning market for fans still yearning for football action during the NFL offseason. But subsequent drops suggest the current model just has not worked.
There is no telling what the future holds for the XFL, especially in light of the season being suspended.
In any case, the league hopes for some kind of resolution in the next few weeks. The Houston Roughnecks and either the D.C. Defenders or St. Louis Battlehawks will likely take part in the event a championship game is held.
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