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April 10 (UPI) -- The XFL suspended operations and laid off nearly all of their employees Friday amid the coronavirus pandemic. Former XFL employees -- including players and league and team executives -- posted messages to Twitter confirming the move. Sources told ESPN and NFL Network that XFL CEO Jeffrey Pollack held a conference call with employees to inform them of the league stoppage.
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The league currently has no plans to return next season. XFL commissioner Oliver Luck did not speak on the call and it is unknown if he still is employed by the league.
"The word they used was 'shut down,'" an XFL employee told NFL Network.
The 2020 XFL season was canceled in March after five games due to the pandemic but the league initially planned to return next season.
"XFL was my life for the last 19 months," former XFL director of player personnel Eric Galko tweeted. "And I'm proud of what the league did and represented."
The XFL -- a planned professional football league -- originally started in 2001, but lasted only one season. WWE chairman Vince McMahon relaunched the league in January, with the new season kicking off Feb. 8.
The new version of the eight-team league helped several XFL stars earn NFL contracts this off-season, including quarterback P.J. Walker, who signed with the Carolina Panthers.
The 2020 XFL season also featured innovative rules, aimed at creating a faster game with more rhythm and flow compared to other football leagues.
