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          WWE's Vince McMahon looks to start professional football league

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          • Darren Rovell, ESPN Senior WriterJan 25, 2018, 10:06 AM ET
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            • ESPN.com's sports business reporter since 2012; previously at ESPN from 2000-06
            • Appears on SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and with ABC News
            • Formerly worked as analyst at CNBC

          Is it time for the return of the XFL?

          WWE founder and chairman Vince McMahon is set to announce that he will make another attempt at starting a professional football league, sources told ESPN.

          Alpha Entertainment, a company that McMahon formed, issued a media advisory Thursday saying that McMahon would have a "major sports announcement" on Thursday afternoon.

          Last month WWE filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission stating that McMahon would sell about $100 million in stock to fund Alpha Entertainment, a company founded to make investments "including professional football."

          It is not clear whether McMahon will use the name XFL, the ill-fated football league he co-owned with NBC that lasted only one season in 2001, but Alpha has filed trademarks for that name.