Several familiar team names from the original XFL are making their return, including the St. Louis Battlehawks and Houston Roughnecks.
With less than six months until its 2023 kickoff, the XFL revealed the brand names and logos for the league’s eight franchises Monday. The teams are the Arlington Renegades, the DC Defenders, the Houston Roughnecks, the Orlando Guardians, the San Antonio Brahmas, the Seattle Sea Dragons, the St. Louis Battlehawks, and the Vegas Vipers.
“Each team’s identity represents the fabric of their local community while also embodying the XFL’s vision and ethos: they are authentic, dynamic, modern, and unapologetically bold,” said Dany Garcia, Chairwoman and Owner, in an official release. “We can’t wait to see our XFL fans representing their favorite XFL teams this upcoming season.”
Of the new team mascots, there are some that have been slightly rebranded from the XFL’s previous regime that was started by Vince McMahon. Notably, several teams have relocated from their original cities or experienced minor rebrands:
- The Houston Roughnecks remain the same.
- The St. Louis Battlehawks remain the same.
- The Renegades are now branded as Arlington rather than nearby Dallas.
- The Guardians are based in Orlando rather than New York.
- While still in the US capital, the Defenders are now the DC Defenders, not the Washington Defenders.
- The Seattle Sea Dragons are no longer the Seattle Dragons.
- The Vipers are now in Vegas instead of Tampa Bay; the original XFL previously featured a Las Vegas team called the Outlaws.
- The Los Angeles Wildcats are no longer a participating franchise.
Garcia, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital purchased the XFL back in 2020 for $15 million and have since been working toward getting the league off the ground. The league has struck many partnerships with the NFL, the Indoor Football League and Under the Lights Flag Football. To go along with this, the XFL has hired tons of personnel to fill its executive team, coaching vacancies, and several other key positions.
“From the start, Dany, Gerry, and I have wanted to deliver our fans nothing but the best, and it is motivating to see our creative vision come to life,” Johnson said on the occasion. “Every one of these logos has a unique energy, intensity, and electricity that each team and their fans will bring on game day. Now is the time for our fans to get behind a team – THEIR team – and wear these logos and represent their city with pride.”
The league will kick off on Feb. 18, 2023, six days after the NFL season concludes in Glendale, Arizona at Super Bowl LVII. The XFL will air on ESPN as part of an exclusive broadcasting agreement.
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