The XFL was purchased last year by Dwayne Johnson’s company and got many fans hoping for a return season. For months, the XFL was in talks with the Canadian Football League. Those talks ended today.

While details on what those talks were about were never released, many speculated that it may have been for a merger or working agreement between the two leagues.

The CFL released the following statement:

A STATEMENT FROM THE CFL REGARDING THE XFL

TORONTO — The Canadian Football League (CFL) released the following statement on Wednesday:

“Our talks with the XFL, exploring the potential for collaboration and innovation, have been positive and constructive.

While we remain open to finding new ways to work together in the future, we and our XFL counterparts have jointly decided to not pursue any formal arrangements at this time.

We at the CFL are now squarely focused on preparing for August 5th and the start of our  2021 regular season, which will culminate December 12 with the playing of the 108th Grey Cup in Hamilton, Ontario.

We are looking forward to this year and  a bright future for our league.”