The XFL 3.0 has seen a much smaller TV audience than the resurrected league generated three years ago. However, the XFL still did much better when it comes to gathering eyeballs than the pro football pajama party that happened in Indianapolis.
Lost in all the hype regarding the Scouting Combine is the fact that, as a TV show, it’s the least watched NFL event. By far.
Via SportsMediaWatch.com, the event averaged only 219,000 viewers on NFL Network. And that was a 26-percent increase from 2022. The best day was Saturday, when 329,000 tuned in to watch the quarterbacks, receivers, and tight ends work out.
The XFL averaged 571,000 viewers for its games televised last weekend. While disappointing relative to XFL 2020, those numbers more than doubled one of the NFL’s biggest offseason tentpole events.
It’s still a good audience, especially since it’s not actual football. But it puts things in perspective, especially at a time when the NFL continues to ponder moving the Combine to other cities. The simple truth may be that, unlike the draft itself (or, you know, actual games), the Combine simply isn’t the big deal the league thinks it is.