Vince McMahon is bringing the XFL back in 2020

Don’t rub your eyes or look at the calendar: this is real headline. The XFL is indeed coming back in 2020, Vince McMahon announced today.

While many details are still being shaped, McMahon said the initial league will have 8 teams with 40 players each playing a 10-game schedule. No teams have been announced yet, but the belief is that they plan on entering cities that already have an NFL market, and that they’d fill a void of not having football from February to April. That’d be interesting for a cold weather city, where you could be beginning the season with some frigid temperatures.

What about Cleveland as a city to be home to one of the eight teams? Heck, there is already a mini-petition out there for it. Cleveland.com says that the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission told them it has not been contacted by anyone associated with the XFL, and neither has the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.

Better yet, what if the quarterback for a possible Cleveland franchise ended up being Johnny Manziel? I joked with my brother a few weeks ago that if Vince brought the XFL back, Manziel would figure to be the one guy who could jumpstart its popularity from the get-go. Shortly after the XFL announcement, Manziel tweeted the following:

During his press conference, though, McMahon said that the XFL “did not want players with a criminal record or a DUI,” and that those offenses would exclude them from a contract. That later prompted Manziel to tweet:

But who knows -- maybe the XFL will have some type of waiver if someone shows to be rehabilitated. Manziel also added that, “All jokes aside, I’m happy and healthy and at a good place in my life. That’s all I can ask for.”

What do you think about the announcement, Browns fans? And would you support a franchise in Cleveland?