A few of the major ones are:. opening coin toss replaced with a 'scramble' where one player from each team raced to take possession of the ball. overtime rules more like the current NCAA model where teams took turns trying to score from the o. Main Difference in XFL Bets vs NFL Bets. The main deviation though, is found with the strategy accompanying these plays. Like the differences between the betting of pro and college games, the strongest point of contrast will be how and why these games are wagered the way they are.

1. What Is Difference Between Nfl And Xfl
2. Diff Between Nfl And Xfl
3. Xfl Rules Differences
4. Difference Between Nfl And Xfl Field

Are you interested in learning about the difference between the NFL and XFL? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve designed this page to equip you with all the information you need to know. In the guide below, we’ve included sections about rules, salaries, betting, and so much more.

Before we dive into things, we wanted to provide you with a quick look at all the topics we’ll cover in this guide about the XFL vs NFL. If you’d like to get the most out of this page, be sure to keep scrolling below to review everything we’ve included. However, you can click on any one of the subjects below if you’d prefer to jump ahead to it immediately.

XFL and NFL Rulebook Differences

You might be wondering about the NFL and XFL differences when it comes to the rules of the gameplay. In this section, we’re going to kick things off by discussing what’s similar between the two. Then, after that, we’ll move into talking about some of the ways the rules of the XFL and NFL vary. As you’ll see, some rulebook differences are quite significant.

Similarities Between XFL and NFL Rules

Up first, we wanted to include some of the primary ways in which the rules of the XFL and NFL are similar. Check out the details below to learn more.

• Field Size

Both the XFL and NFL will use the same 100-yard field.

• Four Downs

Both leagues utilize the same four downs to move the ball rule.

• Positions

The NFL and the XFL both have the same positions and number of players of offense and defense.

Differences Between XFL and NFL Rules

Now that we’ve talked about some of the significant similarities between the XFL rules vs NFL, we wanted to feature some of the main differences between the two. Check out the breakdowns below about the difference between the NFL and XFL.

Running Clock

With the XFL, the clock will run unless there’s a timeout or the two-minute warning. This is different from the NFL, where many things, including first downs, can stop the clock. The reason behind this is one of the XFL’s main goals was to ensure the game moved along much faster than a typical NFL game.

Timeouts

With the NFL, teams receive a total of three time outs for each half of the game. However, in the XFL, there are only two timeouts for each team per half.

Point After Plays

If you’re used to the NFL, then you’re familiar with the idea of kicked extra points after a touchdown. But, with the XFL, there are no kicked extra points. Instead, teams can try to earn between one and three extra points by making a play from the two, five, or 10-yard line.

Forward Passes

With the NFL, there can only be one forward pass each play. However, in the XFL, as long as the first forward pass is caught behind the line of scrimmage, another forward pass can be made. In total, this provides teams the chance to make two forward passes in the XFL.

Overtime Penalties

In the XFL, earning penalties during overtime will cost the teams more severely than if they occurred during regular play. With the NFL, there aren’t distinguishing penalties depending on when they happen.

Challenges

Coaches in the XFL won’t have the ability to make any coach’s challenges. This differs from the NFL, which does allow this option.

Kickoffs

Kickoffs in the XFL will vary quite a bit from what folks are used to with the NFL. Some of the major differences include where each of the teams can start, who can move and when, and what happens with touchbacks. The overall goal of these rule changes is to help make kickoffs safer for the players and to increase the number of returns compared to the NFL.

What Is Difference Between Nfl And Xfl

Catches

In the NFL, a catch requires that a player has both of their feet in bounds. However, with the XFL, a play can be ruled a catch as long as at least one foot or another portion of the player’s body makes contact with the field of play.

Punting

Punting rules also has some significant differences for the NFL vs XFL. For starters, with the XFL, the team that’s punting can’t cross the line of scrimmage until the ball is punted. In addition, XFL punts that go out of bounds or are touchbacks will be placed on the 35-yard line of the receiving team.

Overtime Format

One last way the rules of the XFL vs NFL differ relates to the format of overtime. If you’re familiar with soccer, things operate similar to a soccer shootout. In XFL overtime, each team will have five tries to score from the five-yard line. After all five attempts, the team with the most number of successful tries will win the game.

For a more in-depth look at XFL rules, don’t miss the link included below. Here, you’ll be able to gain additional insight into everything you need to know about the league’s rules.

The XFL as a Business

In this next section, we’re going to get you up to speed on the XFL as a business. Here, you’ll be able to learn about things like player and coach salaries as well as ticket prices. We’ll also stack things up between the XFL vs NFL to help you get an idea of how the two football leagues compare.

XFL Coach Salaries

To get this section started, we’re first going to present you with salary information for XFL coaches. After that, we’ve also added in details on how the XFL coaches fair in relation to NFL coaches.

With the return of the XFL being so fresh, there isn’t a ton of detailed data yet relating to the specifics of XFL coach salaries. However, the commissioner of the XFL, Oliver Luck, stated in a late 2019 interview that coaches in the XFL would have a salary amounting to around $500,000 per season. We expect former Oklahoma Sooners coach Bob Stoops will make more than all the other coaches, as he’s the most famous coach out of the eight head coaches.

So, how does the estimate of $500,000 per season for XFL coaches stack up against NFL coaches? Well, as you probably expected, it’s quite a bit different. Some of the highest-paid coaches in the NFL, like Bill Belichick, earn more than $10,000,000 per season. However, the overall average across all NFL head coaches is around $6,000,000, according to Forbes. In turn, it means XFL coaches make, on average, less than 10% of what NFL coaches do.

Despite the large current gap in the pay for coaches between the NFL vs XFL, we expect the gap between the two should get smaller with time if the XFL can gain popularity. As the league generates more revenue, coaches should have the ability to earn significantly more.

XFL Player Salaries

Now that you’ve gotten a look at information relating to the XFL coaches’ salaries, we didn’t want to leave you without details about how the players themselves are doing. In this section, we’re going to stack up how the salaries for players in the XFL are compared to their NFL counterparts.

We’ll be honest, the salaries for XFL players aren’t all too exciting. According to Pro Football Talk, the XFL told player agents before the 2020 season that the average player salary would be around a mere $55,000 per season. No, that’s not a typo, you read that right.

The $55,000 figure is comprised of a base salary, bonuses for being active players on game day, and bonuses for being on a team that wins. However, it’s worth noting while we’re here, there have been some reported potential disputes relating to the pay players were actually seeing.

All of that said, Oliver Luck estimated top players within the XFL would be able to make upwards of $250,000. While this is a decent sum of money for the best players in the league, the overall player average is a figure which isn’t overly exciting for most.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to guess players in the NFL make more, on average, than XFL players. However, how much more do NFL players make each season? First up, let’s talk about what the top players in the NFL football league can make. For the 2019 season, the top 20 highest paid NFL players all made more than $20,000,000. That’s a stark difference from the estimate of $250,000 for the best players in the XFL.

However, the $20,000,000 figure is what the top players in the NFL make, not the average. For the NFL, the average player makes about $2,700,000 each season. When comparing that to the average XFL salary of just $55,000, it means NFL players make almost 50 times as much per year over XFL players.

As with the coach’s salaries, we don’t expect the XFL average salary will be low forever if the league can gain popularity. We hope to see player salaries rise as the league’s revenue climbs. In turn, the XFL could hope to attract more players when it becomes more attractive to play in the league.

XFL Ticket Prices

Finally, one last thing we wanted to provide you with in this portion of our XFL vs NFL page is how ticket prices differ. For most XFL teams, tickets start as low as $20 for the 2020 season. At the high end of things, prices tend to top out right around the $100 mark. On average, it seems most folks are paying somewhere around $30 to $40 to see a game this season.

Once again, things are much higher when it comes to ticket prices for an NFL game. On average, game tickets for the NFL come in around $102, according to Statista. In turn, this means average ticket prices for the NFL come in more than double that of the XFL league.

Will Betting on the XFL be Different Too?

Up next, we wanted to provide you with some color on how betting might differ between the XFL vs NFL. If you’re a seasoned NFL bettor, there are some things you’ll want to be aware of when betting on the XFL.

Diff Between Nfl And Xfl

• Scoring Implications

If you’re a fan of betting on totals, you’ll want to take into account that scores from the XFL games will most likely be much higher than your typical NFL games. This is due to the changes the XFL made to help keep the game moving quickly and allowing players more time to score.

• Announcers

If you’ve never watched an XFL game before, one of the things which might surprise you is that the announcers will talk about the game’s spread and over/under as the match happens. It’s even shown on the screen. This is something you’ll never see from NFL announcers. In addition, since the coaches and players are aware this information is displayed, there’s a chance they might work harder to try and beat the spread to become a crowd favorite.

• Available Information

When betting on the XFL, there’s much less available information. For starters, many of the players on the teams are relatively unknown. This is in stark contrast to the NFL, where there are stats galore on each player. Also, with the shorter season for the NFL vs XFL, there’s less time for sports bettors to study the teams and players.

• Fewer Teams

With only eight teams in the XFL, it’s easier to study up on each team when compared to the 32 teams within the NFL.

• Kickoff and Punt Rules

With the XFL rules relating to punts and kickoffs, the goal is to drive more returns by players. In turn, XFL teams with better special teams and return units might have a more significant edge in the XFL than they would if they were in the NFL.

XFL Betting Sites vs NFL Betting Sites

The last section of our guide about the XFL vs NFL is centered around the topic of their respective betting sites. Even if you’ve got an existing NFL betting website, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s where you should do your XFL betting online. Keep reading below to make sure you end up working with a quality XFL betting site for your online wagers.

What You Should Look for in an XFL Betting Site

To kick this section off, we first wanted to educate you about what you should be looking for in an online XFL betting website. Below, we’ve provided a summary of some of the core things we think you’ll want to ensure an XFL betting site brings to the table.

Broad XFL Betting Options

Xfl Rules Differences

One of the first things you should seek in an online XFL betting site is a comprehensive collection of XFL wagers. Here, you’re searching for a sports betting website with lots of options for betting on the XFL. Look for a variety of bet types to ensure everything you want is included.

Leading XFL Odds

Difference Between Nfl And Xfl Field

Something else you should look for in an XFL betting websi te is competitive odds on the XFL league. If you’re new to online sports betting, you might not be aware of how much difference the lines can be between competing online sportsbooks.

Live XFL Betting

Next up, another vital aspect of a top XFL betting site is live betting. Otherwise known as in-play wagers, live betting allows you the chance to bet on the games as they happen, as opposed to just before the game starts. Using this type of bet can make betting on the XFL even more fun and entertaining.

XFL Bonuses

Lastly, one other important thing for you to look for when searching for an XFL betting site is bonuses applicable to XFL wagers. Seek online betting websites offering welcome and additional bonuses relevant to action on the XFL.

To view an expanded list of things to look for in an ideal XFL betting site, be sure to visit our primary online XFL betting websites page linked below.
XFL Betting Sites

What’s Different From NFL Betting Sites?

You might be wondering what’s different between an online XFL betting site and an NFL one. While many NFL betting websites might offer action on the XFL, not all of them will. And, even if XFL wagers are included, you still want to ensure all our suggested criteria above are met. By looking for all these critical features, you’ll be sure you’ll have a quality XFL betting online experience as opposed to a subpar one.

Best Betting Sites for XFL and NFL Action

If you’re interested in betting on the NFL or XFL, check out the chart included below. Here, we’ve added a collection of trusted betting websites offering odds on both football leagues. Our team has analyzed each website to ensure these are the top options if you’re looking for online XFL or NFL betting sites. Each one of these suggestions meets all our suggested criteria from the start of this section, so we’re sure you’ll be pleased with your online betting experience.

XFL vs NFL FAQ

Before we wrap things up, we wanted to add in some frequently asked questions about the XFL vs NFL. If you’re still in search of some details, we hope this section can help you find the information you’re looking for.

Final Words on XFL vs NFL

We hope you found all the information on this page about the NFL vs XFL helpful. If you enjoyed the details included here, you might also want to check out some of our other excellent guides relating to the XFL and the NFL. You can use the main website menu to explore everything we have to offer. Thanks for visiting our site, and best of luck with all your future XFL and NFL wagers!

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World Wrestling Entertainment events begin with a montage showing the company’s history, framed by three words: Then. Now. Forever.

Then: 19 years ago this week, on February 3, 2001, the first incarnation of the XFL, created by WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon as a direct alternative to the NFL, held Opening Night of its first and only season.
Now: This Saturday, February 8, 2020, the second incarnation of the XFL kicks off.
Forever: That’s pushing it, considering the dismal track record of spring professional football leagues in the United States.
But there are clear differences between the old XFL and new XFL, contrasting the statement McMahon wanted to make in 2001 with the different goals of the new incarnation.
Begin with the ball. From All-XFL.com: “When it came time to decide what the [2001] XFL ball would look like, league officials were not going to settle on the same old, boring brown pigskin that other leagues traditionally use. Rather, the XFL wanted their balls to have more attitude, just as its players will have.” That black football proved to be too slippery in wet conditions — so league president Basil DeVito sandpapered the ball’s surface to restore its grip. The 2020 XFL’s football is brown, with each football featuring the home coloring of the eight XFL teams and that coloring extended to X’s on either side of the ball. In the league’s official press release, the ball’s “X-Pebble grip technology” is touted as “help[ing] players control the ball with a feel that enables a tight spin on throws, and also allows ball carriers to enhance their ball security.” A clear change in priorities, and the hint of advance planning.

The number of teams remains the same from 2001 to 2020, as does the length of regular season: an eight-team league playing ten games leading up to the postseason. But the facilities are notably different. The 2001 XFL specifically sought natural grass stadiums: the Birmingham Thunderbolts at Legion Field, Chicago Enforcers at Soldier Field, New York/New Jersey Hitmen at Giants Stadium, Orlando Rage at the Citrus Bowl (now Camping World Stadium), Los Angeles Xtreme at the Coliseum, Las Vegas Outlaws at Sam Boyd Stadium, Memphis Maniax at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, and San Francisco Demons at Pacific Bell Park (now Oracle Park, home of MLB’s Giants). Interestingly, Legion Field, Soldier Field, the Citrus Bowl, Giants Stadium, Sam Boyd Stadium, and Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium have all gone through major periods with artificial surfaces — but not in 2001, when the XFL was looking for natural grass sites.
In 2020, league standards have changed along with the quality of modern-day synthetic surfaces: Three XFL teams, the DC Defenders, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Tampa Bay Vipers, will play on grass. The other five, the Dallas Renegades, Houston Roughnecks, New York Guardians, St. Louis BattleHawks, and Seattle Dragons, will host their games on turf.
Notice how those team names and brands are markedly different from 2001 to 2020. From a glorifying of branded violence 19 years ago, the XFL’s franchises have changed to stylish embraces of city identities. Houston’s logo features an oil derrick, harkening to the city’s former NFL franchise, the Oilers. (All 2020 XFL team logos are pictured above.)
The embrace of violence from the 2001 XFL was borne out by the league’s rule innovations. Games began with a ‘scramble’ in lieu of a coin toss, with two players sprinting from the 30-yard line after a football placed at midfield; on Opening Night, Orlando’s Hassan Shamsid-Deen separated his shoulder in the scramble, ending his season. The 2001 XFL encouraged bump-and-run coverage in the secondary — but it discovered what the NFL already knew, which was that this proved too difficult to overcome in the passing game. A month into the season, the XFL reversed course and banned the bump-and-run in a bid to add more scoring and excitement to its defensive-dominated games. Old school grind-it-out football wasn’t as exciting as it used to be.
The 2020 XFL’s rule innovations, meanwhile, prioritize pace of play for brisker games: a 25-second play clock (rather than the NFL’s 40-second play clock), shortening halftime to ten minutes and timeouts to one minute (with each team only receiving two timeouts per half), introducing a ball-spotting official whose only job is to get the ball ready for play as quickly as possible, and an up-tempo game clock that rolls as soon as the ball is spotted for play, even following incompletions, unless inside the final two minutes of each half. Inside those final two minutes, the game changes. If a play ends with the player down inbounds, the clock stops until five seconds have elapsed on the play clock, thus allowing more time for a comeback and denying kneel downs from draining the final two minutes. Another key change: While the 2001 XFL banned fair catches, allowing the chance for greater collisions on punt returns, the 2020 XFL permits (though discourages) fair catches while giving returners greater freedom for returns by not allowing the punting team to cover the punt until the ball is safely booted upward and onward. If there are injuries, as there assuredly will be, the 2020 XFL comes complete with its own practice squad, Team 9, with a corps of players practicing in Arlington, TX, waiting for their chance to be signed during the season.

Both the 2001 and 2020 XFL did identify a clear area to separate from the NFL and orthodox football: No extra-point kicks following touchdowns. In 2001, XFL teams were forced to run a play from the 2-yard line to pick up an extra point. The current XFL is going deeper, giving offenses the choice of going for one, two or three points, depending on if they choose to run a play from the 2-yard line, 5-yard line, or 10-yard line.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the two different XFLs is shown in the leagues’ broadcast presentations. The 2001 XFL saw Vince McMahon walk out to midfield, microphone in hand, to growl, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the XFL,” as if still in his Monday Night RAW persona. The Rock, before he became box office star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, gave a full-on wrestling promo leading up to a game. RAW commentators Jim Ross and Jerry “the King” Lawler served as one of the league’s broadcast teams; Jesse Ventura worked on another; RAW commentator Jonathan Coachman served as sideline reporter. The implications were clear: The XFL and the WWE, though at that point still the WWF, were inextricably tied. Narratives were forced and hotshotted, from a feud between Ventura and New York/New Jersey’s head coach, Rusty Tillman, to the sexualized way the league’s cheerleaders were presented, which led to a brief demotion for lead broadcaster Matt Vasgersian after he did not react on air as enthusiastically as his bosses wished to the cheerleaders dancing in the crowd.
Now, consider the 2020 XFL’s announced broadcast teams: Kevin Burkhardt, Steve Levy, Tom Hart, Curt Menefee on play-by-play, with Joel Klatt, Greg McElroy, Joey Galloway, Tom Luginbill, and Pat McAfee as analysts. Each brings football broadcast credibility to the airwaves.
There were more than a few memorable aspects from the 2001 XFL beyond its failures. Major League Baseball’s Players Weekends see the players wear their nicknames on the backs of their jerseys; the XFL did it first. The XFL’s players were mic’ed up, the coaches were interviewed during games, halftime speeches were recorded and aired, players individually introduced themselves to the camera, and the Sky Cam zoomed about the field above the players. These have all stuck around, to increasing use, in today’s football broadcasts. They, too, are the XFL’s legacy.
That was then. This Saturday is now for the new XFL.

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