The XFL has announced the new names and logos for its eight teams ahead of the 2023 season.
The league was first launched in 2001 as a joint venture between Vince McMahon’s WWE and NBC to compete with the NFL but lasted just one season. It was relaunched in 2020 as a Spring football league with the aim of targeting football fans during the NFL offseason but COVID brought everything to a halt five weeks into the season and eventually the league folded and filed for bankruptcy.
In August 2020, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners bought the XFL out of bankruptcy and ever since have been working on rebuilding it for a return in February 2023.
Three of the teams – D.C. Defenders, Houston Roughnecks, and the St. Louis Battlehawks – have returned from the 2020 season while two of the teams – the Orlando Guardians and Vegas Vipers – return but in different cities. The Guardians were previously based in New York while the Vipers were based in Tampa Bay.
The names of two other teams – the Seattle Sea Dragons and Arlington Renegades – have been changed slightly. The Sea Dragons were just the Dragons while the Renegades were based in Dallas in 2020.
In fact, there is only one new team, the San Antonio Brahmas, named for its hardy beef cattle.
Houston Roughnecks
Head coach: Wade Philips
The only undefeated team in XFL 2.0 returns with the same name but with a change to the previous logo, which was opposed by the NFL and the Tennessee Titans for too closely resembling the Houston Oilers’ oil derrick insignia.
San Antonio Brahmas
Head coach: Hines Ward
Maybe paying slight homage to Dwayne Johnson’s signature “Brahma Bull” brand, which adorned his right arm for about two decades and transformed into the Under Armour “Project Rock Collection,” San Antonio’s first XFL team features a black-and-gold bull with a B on its forehead.
St. Louis BattleHawks
Head coach: Anthony Becht
The league’s most popular team in terms of average attendance keeps its 2020 identity. The new logo is slightly tweaked from the 2020 version.
Seattle Sea Dragons
Head coach: Jim Haslett
Seattle gets a slight change from the 2020 squad, with the Dragons becoming the Sea Dragons, which is in keeping with the maritime themes of the other Seattle teams – the Seahawks, Mariners and Kraken. The green, blue and orange color scheme returns with the new dragon logo forming an “S.”
Arlington Renegades
Head coach: Bob Stoops (only returning coach from 2020)
After the team played as the Dallas Renegades in 2020, the nickname returns but will directly represent the league’s hub city.
Vegas Vipers
Head coach: Rod Woodson
The Vipers return but not in Tampa. They have moved roughly 2,000 miles west to Las Vegas, which hosted the Outlaws in 2001.
D.C. Defenders
Head coach: Reggie Barlow
The Defenders return after averaging more than 16,000 fans in 20,000-seat Audi Field during the second itineration of the league. The logo is a slightly altered version of the secondary logo that was officially unveiled on the eve of the 2020 season opener, which features “D.C. red” and “Defender gray.” This time, the team is using periods in D.C.
Orlando Guardians
Head coach: Terrell Buckley
The Guardians name makes the move to Florida after residing in New York in 2020, replacing the red trim with neon green which is more in line with the move south. The league returns to Orlando, which was home to the Rage in the XFL’s 2001 season.