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With return of league, XFL to 'collaborate' with NFL

The XFL has announced a partnership with the NFL. But we still don't know if St. Louis will be in line for a team when the XFL does return.

ST. LOUIS — The XFL is teaming up with a familiar partner once the league relaunches in 2023.

The XFL announced on Monday that it will "collaborate" with the National Football League on innovation opportunities aimed at advancing the game of football.

Areas of emphasis include health and safety, physical and mental fitness programs, playing surfaces and equipment, international development and scouting, officiating and in-game rules.

The previous iteration of the XFL had various differences in rules from the NFL such as kickoff changes and extra point variations.

“We are extremely pleased to collaborate with the NFL in these important areas,” Dany Garcia, Co-Owner and Chairwoman of the XFL said in a release. “We are bringing forward an XFL that is progressive and forward-thinking when it comes to innovation, leveraging the newest technology to enhance gameday experience. We have an open field for innovative rules to enhance in-game access. Sharing insights and practices between the XFL and NFL will do a tremendous amount of good for the game of football and support the player ecosystem overall.”

“The XFL has shown us that innovation is one of its core principles. We are hopeful that this relationship will support further development and improvements in the game of football at all levels," Troy Vincent, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations said in a release.

XFL co-owner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson also expressed his excitement in the collaboration with the NFL on Twitter.

The XFL has not announced which cities it plans to place teams in when the league returns in 2023. The St. Louis BattleHawks of the previous iteration of the XFL were arguably the most successful team in the league when it came to fan support and TV ratings, but it is still uncertain of St. Louis would receive a team in the new league.

When the new group purchased the XFL in 2020, the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission confirmed it had been contacted about a return to the city. 

RELATED: New XFL ownership has talked about returning to St. Louis

"The Rock" has teased that multiple other announcements about the XFL should be coming soon, including host cities and TV broadcast rights.

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