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The X Games League (XGL) unveiled its first four teams, as the three-decade-old action sports property transitions from an event model to a league format with summer and winter seasons.
Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo and Tokyo are the clubs that will have co-ed rosters of skateboard and BMX athletes during a three-event summer season that starts in June in Sacramento. The first athlete draft is in March at Cosm in Los Angeles.
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“We think it’s a great way to create new rivalries in action sports,” Jeremy Bloom, X Games CEO, said in a phone interview. “When you have a season of multiple stops, rivalries develop differently, storylines develop differently, fandom develops differently. … It is certainly a new chapter for action sports.”
Bloom, a former Olympics skier and standout college football kick returner, said the league format offers an opportunity to tap into different trends, such as fantasy sports and betting. Last week, X Games signed a betting partnership with Stake.
MoonPay will be the title sponsor for the summer and winter seasons. The crypto payments company signed a three-year agreement, which is the largest sponsorship in the history of action sports, worth “mid-eight figures” in total, according to someone familiar with the details. As part of the deal, MoonPay also has an option to invest in the league and buy two teams.
ESPN founded the X Games in 1995, and the final standalone event was this weekend in Aspen, Colo. In 2022, MSP Sports Capital bought a majority stake in the X Games, with ESPN staying on as a minority investor and TV partner. The private equity firm was already an investor in Formula 1’s McLaren Racing team and multiple European soccer clubs.
Bloom says F1 is a good comp for what XGL is looking to do in its new season format, with global athletes earning individual and team points. XGL will start with four teams each in summer and winter and expand to 10 teams in both seasons. Individual team owners have the full licensing rights to that team and can sell sponsorship and merchandise.
Bloom said multiple teams have already been sold, and the first ownership group will be revealed soon.
Drafted athletes will receive salaries and can win prize money. For the first time, X Games will pay for all athlete travel costs. The co-ed makeup of the teams—five men and five women—is also unique for a sports league.
XGL appointed general managers for the inaugural four teams: Bob Burnquist (São Paulo), Harumi Suzuki (Tokyo), Sharalee “Haze” Hazen (Los Angeles) and Steve Rodriguez (New York). The GMs will oversee athlete and team strategy and collaborate with XGL leadership on operations, content and marketing.
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Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo and Tokyo are the clubs that will have co-ed rosters of skateboard and BMX athletes during a three-event summer season that starts in June in Sacramento. The first athlete draft is in March at Cosm in Los Angeles.
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“We think it’s a great way to create new rivalries in action sports,” Jeremy Bloom, X Games CEO, said in a phone interview. “When you have a season of multiple stops, rivalries develop differently, storylines develop differently, fandom develops differently. … It is certainly a new chapter for action sports.”
Bloom, a former Olympics skier and standout college football kick returner, said the league format offers an opportunity to tap into different trends, such as fantasy sports and betting. Last week, X Games signed a betting partnership with Stake.
MoonPay will be the title sponsor for the summer and winter seasons. The crypto payments company signed a three-year agreement, which is the largest sponsorship in the history of action sports, worth “mid-eight figures” in total, according to someone familiar with the details. As part of the deal, MoonPay also has an option to invest in the league and buy two teams.
ESPN founded the X Games in 1995, and the final standalone event was this weekend in Aspen, Colo. In 2022, MSP Sports Capital bought a majority stake in the X Games, with ESPN staying on as a minority investor and TV partner. The private equity firm was already an investor in Formula 1’s McLaren Racing team and multiple European soccer clubs.
Bloom says F1 is a good comp for what XGL is looking to do in its new season format, with global athletes earning individual and team points. XGL will start with four teams each in summer and winter and expand to 10 teams in both seasons. Individual team owners have the full licensing rights to that team and can sell sponsorship and merchandise.
Bloom said multiple teams have already been sold, and the first ownership group will be revealed soon.
Drafted athletes will receive salaries and can win prize money. For the first time, X Games will pay for all athlete travel costs. The co-ed makeup of the teams—five men and five women—is also unique for a sports league.
XGL appointed general managers for the inaugural four teams: Bob Burnquist (São Paulo), Harumi Suzuki (Tokyo), Sharalee “Haze” Hazen (Los Angeles) and Steve Rodriguez (New York). The GMs will oversee athlete and team strategy and collaborate with XGL leadership on operations, content and marketing.
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