Editing XFL (2001) (section)

==XFL rule changes==
Despite boasts of a "rules-light" game and universally negative reviews from the mainstream sports media early on, the XFL played the standard brand of 11-man American outdoor football that was recognizable, aside from the opening game sprint to determine possession and some other changes, some of which were modified during the season as it progressed. The league's coaches vetoed a proposal to eliminate ineligible receivers (allowing any player to receive a forward pass) midway through the season, on account that the change would be too radical.

===Game balls===
The league's game balls were made by [[Spalding (company)|Spalding]], and were unique in that instead of being the standard brown, the ball was black with a red "X" going across the sides of the ball.<ref>
{{cite web |url=https://corporate.wwe.com/news/company-news/2000/08-03-2000a |title=XFL Names Spalding First Official Licensee |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=August 3, 2000 |website=WWE.com |publisher=WWE |access-date=January 11, 2020 |quote="Spalding is one of the most recognizable names in sports and we’re very excited to have Spalding on board as our first on-field partner," said Basil V. DeVito, Jr., President of the XFL. "The Spalding game ball, with its unique and high-impact black, silver, and red color combination, will be one of the strongest icons of the XFL."}}</ref> The balls were later found to be slippery and difficult to handle, and the balls had to be rubbed with [[sandpaper]] to make them usable.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y05XzLR5Ty4 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/y05XzLR5Ty4| archive-date=November 17, 2021 | url-status=live|title=How the XFL solved the slippery ball problem with sandpaper |work=ESPN via Youtube |date=January 25, 2018 |access-date=February 23, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Grass stadiums===
The league deliberately avoided placing teams in stadiums with [[artificial turf]], which at the time had a bad reputation both for being unsightly as well as being more hazardous to play on compared to natural turf.<ref>[http://www.xflboard.com/stadiums/index.htm List of stadiums] courtesy of xflboard.com.</ref> The league's requirement for [[grass]] fields automatically ruled out the use of [[dome]]d stadiums since no such stadium capable of accommodating a grass football field existed in the U.S. in 2001 (the only [[retractable roof]] stadiums complete at the time were used exclusively for [[Major League Baseball]]; the first retractable roof stadium for NFL use was not completed until [[NRG Stadium|Reliant Stadium]] opened for the expansion [[Houston Texans]] in [[2002 NFL season|2002]]). Furthermore, every XFL field was designed identically, with no individual team branding on the field. Each [[end zone]] and 50&nbsp;yard line was decorated with the XFL logo, with the endzones also being painted black.

Most of the league's stadiums were football-specific facilities, the only exception being San Francisco's [[Pacific Bell Park]] (home of the [[San Francisco Giants]]) which was built primarily for [[baseball]], but (unlike many newer baseball-specific stadiums) can accommodate football. Two XFL stadiums ([[Giants Stadium]] and [[Soldier Field]]) were also then-current NFL stadiums, while two others ([[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]] and the [[Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium]]) had previously hosted NFL games; the NFL would return to the Coliseum when the [[Los Angeles Rams|Rams]] returned to Los Angeles in 2016. The remaining fields were in regular use as [[college football]] venues at the time.

The home team in every stadium was required to occupy the sideline opposite the press box in order to be visible to the television cameras. Due to the odd field dimensions in San Francisco, teams playing there were permitted to occupy the same sideline (a similar arrangement existed in the NFL when the [[Green Bay Packers]] played home games at [[Milwaukee County Stadium]] and in stadiums previously used by the [[Chicago Bears]], [[Detroit Lions]], [[Kansas City Chiefs]] and [[Minnesota Vikings]]).

The all-grass field stipulation caused the league to skip over several of the country's largest markets, including [[Houston]] and [[Philadelphia]], since they lacked a large grass stadium in 2001.<!--Dallas had the Cotton Bowl and Detroit had Tiger Stadium--> In the league's two northernmost markets, Chicago and New York/New Jersey (the latter of which played in [[Giants Stadium]] during a brief window in which the stadium's usual artificial turf had been replaced by natural grass), the combination of the all-grass requirement, midwinter playing season and the fact that the XFL followed shortly after the NFL had used both fields for a full season (in Giants Stadium's case, two full seasons, since the Giants and Jets shared the stadium; the Giants also hosted two playoff games following the [[2000 NFL season|2000 season]]) caused significant damage to the playing fields; at Chicago's [[Soldier Field]], the wear and tear on the field was such that by midseason, the midfield logo of the NFL's [[Chicago Bears]] was clearly visible amid a stretch of dirt and dead grass.

At the time, "next generation" artificial surfaces (which much more closely mimicked grass in appearance, feel and player safety) were slowly being introduced in professional football. In 2000, the [[Seattle Seahawks]] were the first professional team to play on next-generation artificial turf at the [[University of Washington]]'s [[Husky Stadium]], where the Seahawks played in 2000 and 2001 following the demolition of the [[Kingdome]] and prior to the completion of what is now [[Lumen Field]]). Giants Stadium would have a next generation artificial surface installed in 2003; Soldier Field was renovated extensively in 2002 but retained its grass field. Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and [[Legion Field]] have also installed next-generation turf fields since the demise of the original XFL.

===Opening scramble===
Replacing the [[coin toss]] at the beginning of each game was an event in which one player from each team fought to recover a football 20 yards away in order to determine possession. Both players lined up side by side on one of the 30-yard lines, with the ball being placed at the 50-yard line. At the whistle, the two players would run toward the ball and attempt to gain possession; whichever player gained possession first was allowed to choose possession (as if he had won a coin toss in other leagues). The XFL's first injury infamously resulted from the opening scramble; [[Orlando Rage|Orlando]] free safety [[Hassan Shamsid-Deen]] suffered a [[separated shoulder]] prior to the Rage's 33–29 season-opening win over the [[Chicago Enforcers]] at [[Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium]] on February 3.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/020401/Sports/League_starts_in_Orla.shtml |author=Cotey, John C. |title=League starts in Orlando with pageantry, pain |place=St. Petersburg, FL |newspaper=Sunday Times |date=February 4, 2001}}</ref> He ended up missing the remainder of the campaign.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20010207-2001-02-07-0102070013-story.html|title=XFL Shocking? No more than the Redskins |first=Warner |last=Hessler |website=dailypress.com|date=February 7, 2001 }}</ref>

===No PAT (point after touchdown) kicks===
After every [[touchdown]] scored, no extra point after kicks were done, due to the XFL's perception that an extra-point kick was a "guaranteed point." To earn a point after a touchdown, teams ran a single offensive down from the two-yard line (functionally identical to the NFL / NCAA / CFL [[two-point conversion]], but for just a single point as it had been before the two-point conversion was adopted). By the playoffs, two-point and three-point conversions had been added to the rules. Teams could opt for the bonus points by playing the conversion farther back from the goal line. However, touchdowns were still worth 6 points.

This rule, as originally implemented, was similar to the [[World Football League|WFL]]'s "Action Point", and was identical to a 1968 "Pressure Point" experiment by the NFL and the [[American Football League]], used only in preseason interleague games that year.

In 2015, the NFL, CFL and other professional leagues would address the "guaranteed point" concerns by moving the extra point kick back to the 15-yard and 25-yard lines, respectively, thus making the length of the kick the same distance (taking into account the NFL's position of the goalposts on the end line, and the CFL's goalposts being positioned on the goal line). The [[Alliance of American Football]] (AAF) in 2019 adopted this "no extra point kick" rule from the original XFL, albeit making the scrimmage play conversion two points as in other levels of the game. The revived XFL kept the conversion system used during the playoffs.

===Overtime===
Ties were to be resolved in similar fashion to the NCAA and in the CFL today, with at least one possession by each team, starting from the opponent's 20-yard line. There were differences: there were no first downs and thus teams had to score within four downs, and the team that had possession first in overtime could not attempt a field goal until fourth down. If that team managed to score a touchdown in fewer than four downs, the second team would only have that same number of downs to match or beat the result. If the score was still tied after one overtime period, the team that played second on offense in the first OT would start on offense in the second OT (similar to the rules of college football overtime). The process would be repeated until a winner was determined; unlike the CFL and NFL, but like college football, games could not end in ties even in the regular season.

===Bump and run===
The XFL allowed full [[bump and run coverage]] early in the season. Defensive backs were allowed to hit wide receivers any time before the quarterback released the ball, as long as the hit came from the front or the side.

Following the fourth week of the season, bump and run was restricted to the first five yards from the line of scrimmage (similar to NFL and CFL) in an effort to increase offensive production.

===Forward motion===
Unlike the [[National Football League|NFL]], but like the [[World Football League]] and [[Arena Football League]] before it<!--NOT like Canadian football, which has totally different forward motion rules-->, the XFL allowed one offensive player to [[motion (football)|move]] toward the line of scrimmage once he was outside the tackles.

===Punting rules===
The XFL imposed a number of restrictions on [[punt (gridiron football)|punting]] that are not present in most other leagues' rules, the net effect of which made punts in the XFL operate under rules more akin to [[kickoff (gridiron football)|kickoffs]]. The purpose of these provisions was to keep play going after the ball was punted, encouraging the kicking team to make the ball playable and the receiving team to run it back. To this effect:
* Punting out of bounds was a ten-yard [[penalty (gridiron football)|penalty]], effectively outlawing the [[coffin corner punt]] commonplace at most other levels of the game.
* Any punt that traveled at least 25 yards past the line of scrimmage could be recovered by the kicking team, thus legalizing to an extent the [[Bomb (kick)|up-and-under or garryowen]] common to [[rugby football]] codes. Thus, instead of letting the kicking team down the ball as is common in other leagues, the receiving team was required to try and return the punt or else lose possession.
* The kicking team was prohibited from coming within five yards of the [[punt returner]] before he gained possession of the ball. This rule, known as the halo rule in college football and also common in the CFL, was dubbed the "danger zone" in the XFL. Coming within 5{{nbsp}}yards or less of this "danger zone" entailed a {{nobreak|5-yard}} penalty, much in the same vein as the CFL's "no yards" penalty.
* [[Fair catch]]es were not recognized. (The "no fair catch" rule was one of the most heavily hyped rule differences in the XFL and a central part of the league's marketing campaign, and like the above "no yards" penalty, fair catches were not recognized in Canadian football.)

For the initial weeks of the season, the XFL forbade all players on the kicking team from going downfield before a kick was made from scrimmage on that down, similarly to a rule the NFL considered in 1974. For the rest of the season the XFL modified it to allow one player closest to each sideline downfield ahead of the kick, the same modification the NFL adopted to their change just before their 1974 exhibition games started.

Allowing the kicking team to recover a punt did encourage noticeably more [[quick kick]]s over the course of the XFL's lone season than was typically seen in the NFL over the preceding decades, including a quick kick during the [[Million Dollar Game]] (that particular kick, executed by San Francisco on a third-and-31 play, succeeded in taking Los Angeles off-guard, but the kick also backfired as the Demons could not recover the kick and Los Angeles returned it for a touchdown).<ref name=worst>{{cite AV media |author=Bulkema, Will |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pRFTLDtgeQ | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/9pRFTLDtgeQ| archive-date=November 17, 2021 | url-status=live|title=The only XFL championship was also the worst |publisher=[[SB Nation]] |date=February 7, 2019 |medium=video |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Play clock===
The XFL used a [[play clock]] of 35&nbsp;seconds from the end of the previous play, five seconds shorter than the contemporary NFL play clock of 40&nbsp;seconds (but still longer than the CFL's 20&nbsp;seconds, timed from the spotting of the football), in an effort to speed up the game.

===Roster and salaries===
The XFL limited each team to an unusually low 38&nbsp;players, as opposed to 53 on [[National Football League|NFL]] teams and 80 or more on unlimited college rosters. This was similar to the [[Canadian Football League|CFL]], which had a comparable 40&nbsp;man roster limit in 2001. This was partly to limit payroll costs, and partly because the XFL wanted to curb the use of "specialists," something which the NFL has sometimes come under criticism for. To comply with roster limits, most teams only carried two quarterbacks and one kicker who doubled as the punter.

The XFL paid standardized player salaries. [[Quarterback]]s earned US$5,000 per week, kickers earned $3,500, and all other uniformed players earned $4,500 per week, though a few players got around these restrictions ([[Los Angeles Xtreme]] players [[Noel Prefontaine]], the league's lone [[punter (football)|punting specialist]], and Matt Malloy, a wide receiver) by having themselves listed as backup quarterbacks. Players on a winning team received a bonus of $2,500 for the week, $7,500 for winning a [[playoff game]]. The team that won the championship game split $1,000,000 (roughly $25,000 per player). Players did not receive any fringe benefits, and had to pay for their own [[health insurance]].

===Jersey nicknames===
The XFL allowed its players to wear a nickname on the back of their jersey, as opposed to the legal last name most professional sports leagues have required since the 1960s. Players could change the nickname any time they wanted, and a few players chose to change the nicknames on a weekly basis depending on their opponent. The league's use of [[#Skycam and Bubba Cam|backfield camera angles]] gave these nicknames even greater exposure. Nevertheless, two teams, Orlando<ref name=letsplayfootball>{{cite web |url=http://www.pressconnects.com/story/sports/college/purdue/football/2017/07/27/lets-play-football-follows-purdues-jeff-brohm/514924001/ |title=Jeff Brohm's XFL mic drop moment follows him to Purdue |agency=Gannett News Service |first=Mike |last=Carmin |date=July 27, 2017 |access-date=November 29, 2017}}</ref> and Birmingham, imposed policies that forbade players from using nicknames. Orlando's ban was voted upon by the players, although Jeff Brohm objected. Birmingham's players were banned from doing so by coach [[Gerry DiNardo]], a notoriously strict disciplinarian more accustomed to coaching at the college level. DiNardo previously alienated players at [[Vanderbilt Commodores football|Vanderbilt]] and [[LSU Tigers football|LSU]] and later did so at [[Indiana Hoosiers football|Indiana]] with his iron-fisted rule. The Thunderbolts were the only professional team he would ever coach.

[[Rod Smart]], a running back who played in the first XFL nationally televised game, was the first player to gain notice from his nickname, "He Hate Me."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2017/aug/11/mlb-players-weekend-nickname-jerseys-age |title=MLB's nickname gimmick won't solve baseball's mounting age issues |newspaper=The Guardian |place=UK |date=August 11, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Fans love 'He Hate Me'"/>