Dwayne Johnson is now one of the owners of the XFL

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The Rock is cooking something new.

On Monday, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale's RedBird Capital announced they have agreed to buy the XFL . The football league, founded by WWE CEO Vince McMahon, was headed towards a bankruptcy auction this week, but Johnson, Garcia and RedBird's acquisition of XFL parent company Alpha Entertainment (for approximately $15 million) has cancelled proceedings.

“The acquisition of the XFL with my talented partners, Dany Garcia and Gerry Cardinale, is an investment for me that’s rooted deeply in two things — my passion for the game and my desire to always take care of the fans,” said Johnson (who was one of the WWE's biggest stars and also played football for the University of Miami) in a statement. “With pride and gratitude for all that I’ve built with my own two hands, I plan to apply these callouses to the XFL, and look forward to creating something special for the players, fans, and everyone involved for the love of football.”

The XFL was founded in 2018. Play began earlier this year but was shut down — along with all live sports — by the coronavirus pandemic, leading the XFL to file for bankruptcy and put itself up for sale in April.

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