Back to the Detroit Lions Newsfeed

Meet Michigan's ties to the XFL's reboot, from Chuck Long to Detroit King's 'Big Ham'

While metro Detroit prepares for the April return of the Michigan Panthers in Year 2 of the USFL’s reboot — now with games at Ford Field! — there’s another league revving up a reboot beginning next weekend.

It’s time for the XFL, Version 3.0, which kicks off Feb. 18 in Arlington, Texas (and elsewhere). The eight-team league has a flashy owner — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — plus a few carryover cities from 2020’s version 2.0 (Houston, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington) and some high-profile opening-week TV slots on ABC, ESPN and FX.

What it doesn’t have, of course, is a team remotely near Detroit.