After a brief start and two years of hype, ESPN's Field Yates is reporting that Vince McMahon's XFL has been shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic after just five weeks of initial play.

　　Originally founded in 2001 by the wrestling titan and lasting just one season, McMahon promised a new iteration of the sport in 2018 and relaunched in January 2020, the XFL suspended the rest of the 2020 season on March 8th after just five regular season games.

　　NEWS: on a call today with COO Jeffery Pollock, XFL employees were just informed that the league is suspending operations and all employees have been laid off. Another sport impacted further by the current COVID-19 crisis.

　　— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 10, 2020

　　The league announced back in March, when play was first suspended, that it would pay all players their base salary for the rest of the season; players who receive legitimate offers from the NFL or CFL would be allowed to sign with those teams but with a clause requiring them to return to their XFL squads if the league is able to hold its championship game.

　　As of now, the XFL has no plans to return in 2021. The news broke over a conference call with COO Jeffrey Pollock saying that all employees have been laid off. Earlier in the year, all major sports organizations like NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL have suspended their seasons, but of course will return once this pandemic has ended.