In 2019, an upstart league that involved Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian called the Alliance of American Football opened its doors—and quickly closed it a little more than halfway through its inaugural season, due to funding issues that led to the emergence of a new majority owner who pushed for goals too high. He decided to pull the plug after he could not get the NFL to agree to directly cooperate with the AAF on a timeline he would like.
2020 saw the resurrection of Vince McMahon’s XFL, which was having a successful return until the COVID-19 pandemic stopped the world in its tracks.