2023 XFL lessons from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Dany Garcia - ESPN

Perhaps the most notable accomplishment of the XFL's season is it will conclude this weekend with no questions about its immediate future.

The 2001 version of the league folded within weeks after its season ended. In 2020, the league suspended play at midseason because of the COVID-19 pandemic and soon entered bankruptcy. Under new ownership in 2023, however, the XFL has played a full 40-game regular season, along with two semifinal playoff games, and will stage a championship game Saturday in San Antonio between the Arlington Renegades and D.C. Defenders (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+/ESPN Deportes).

During an interview this week with ESPN, owners Dany Garcia and Dwayne Johnson declared the season a success and began looking ahead to 2024. Garcia said the league's front office staff will soon take an off-site retreat and many offseason staples, including a series of combines and player showcases, have already been scheduled.

Quantitative results have been mixed. As Garcia put it: «There are areas that have absolutely exceeded our expectations, and there are areas that were newly discovered.»

Games averaged 2 hours and 49 minutes — 12 minutes shorter than the NFL in 2022 and in line with the league's hopes to produce a faster-paced event. As of midweek, 54 players had received invitations to try out at NFL camps this month.

Attendance figures, on the other hand, fell short of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Garcia acknowledged «we have a ton of work to do.» Regardless, Johnson insisted the ownership group — which also includes Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners — had always planned for multiple seasons of product development.

«We've been doing business for quite some time, Dany and I,