The St. Louis Battlehawks Open As +400 Favorites To Win The XFL Championship

The XFL is back for the 2023 season picking up where it left off in 2020 when COVID unfortunately cut the league's reboot short. Coming into the season the league is long on exposure and short on marketable stars at the moment. When the league originally launched in 2001 it had an exclusive TV deal with NBC. But much like the NFL, the XFL's top brass have embraced a multi-network strategy, sending its games to viewers via ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and FX this season. With TV audiences available to them, the league just needs some stars to emerge. Given the long layoff, there will be many new faces and names requiring introductions to a national audience. Sportsbooks have wasted no time, offering odds on which team will win the XFL league title during the spring. 

XFL Champion For 2023

First off, the St. Louis Battlehawks are the favorite at +400. At such low odds, there is very little value in playing a favorite.  Their roster, like many in the XFL, is filled with NFL washouts and former college stars. When you type in A.J. McCarron (STL QB) into Google – it auto populates “wife” at the end. This is the caliber of player you're dealing with and why it's a solid strategy to embrace the underdog in this market.  McCarron tore his ACL in late 2021 and never played in the NFL again.  While hurt, he went back to the TV studio booth for ESPN's college football coverage, but as we saw with Kirk Herbstreet, college success doesn't always translate to the pro’s.  Head coach Anthony Becht’s only real professional coaching experience occured four years ago as a tight ends coach in the AAF (defunct league).  A rookie head coach relying on a QB who has been out of the game for so long doesn't inspire confidence.

A team with upside, at least at its current +500 price, is the Arlington Renegades purely based on their projected QB play alone.  The Renegades are led by Kyle Sloter who is a veteran of these spring leagues. Sloter played in the USFL in 2022 where he put up the second most passing yards, but he tossed nine touchdowns against 11 interceptions. He also is a minimal threat on the ground with only 54 rushing yards in nine contests. His supporting cast, however, includes De’Veon Smith who has AAF and strong spring league football experience as well as Sal Cannella who was a fun surprise in the USFL last year.  On defense, Arlington brings linebacker Donald Payne who dominated the USFL last year and had 27 more tackles than the next highest defender. If their offense gels and the skill positions prop up Sloter, this team could go deep into the playoffs.

As for the bargain basement search for value, the XFL has one team that's worth a flyer. The DC Defenders shouldn't be the long shot in this league for a few reasons, specifically Jordan Ta’amu's potential at quarterback. Ta'amu led the USFL in passing yards and touchdowns last year.  Back in the 2020 XFL season, he led the league in completion percentage and was third in yards.  Who was in front of him?  Future NFLer Phillip Walker and NFL journeyman Josh Johnson. DC also has two intriguing players in their backfield: Abram Smith – the #1 overall pick in the 2023 XFL draft of skill players and Pooka Williams – a talented running from Kansas who had a tumultuous college career but still packs a lot of upside. With a backfield that talented, DC should be able to pile up the points this spring.