Why the XFL Should Make Ndamukong Suh the Face of the League

February 2020 will be an exciting time for football fans. Not only will they get to witness Super Bowl LIV in Miami, but it will also mark the official revival of Vince McMahon’s XFL. The league will return after a nearly two-decade absence, launching a ten-week regular season schedule and a two-week postseason that carries over into the spring.

As teams such as Dallas, St. Louis, New York, Houston, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Washington get their front offices in place, it’s time that we look into some big names in football that we think should make an appearance in the XFL. After sorting through all the talent of the AAF and big-time free agents from the NFL, we think we’ve found the prospective face of the future of XFL football. He’s a big-time name who brings fear and money-making entertainment to the style of football McMahon was trying to sell to fans in the league’s original debut in 2001.

The one player McMahon needs to bring to the XFL is none other than the NFL’s alleged dirtiest player, Ndamukong Suh. Even though Suh is finalizing a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, we have solid reasons why he and the XFL would be a match made in heaven.

Suh has been a dominating force ever since he was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2010. Defensive Rookie of the Year award winner and five-time Pro Bowler, Suh has been living up to the hype as an unstoppable force in the trenches. Racking up 56 sacks and 323 tackles over his nine-year career, he has developed a reputation of being a dirty player in the league. He has been ejected and broken fine records left and right, those penalties stemming from countless acts of unsportsmanlike conduct—incidents such as frequent face mask grabbing, stomping on an offensive lineman’s arm and kicking an opponent’s groin area.

As dangerous as it sounds, the XFL covets controversy. Who lives for moments when he can make money off sports entertainment with a few dramatic controversies? WWE owner and XFL creator McMahon. So with Suh’s reputation as a controversial figure in football, it makes perfect sense that McMahon would throw a large money bag at him.

During his first go-around with the XFL, McMahon wanted to bring more excitement to football using things like fascinating camera views, top-notch talent with market-worthy personalities and jaw-dropping plays on the field. Even though he hit gold with the entertaining in-game interviews and moderations to the rules of football, the XFL was sacked due to poor viewing ratings and not having big-name athletes in the league.

With this second attempt, Suh would be McMahon’s golden ticket to adding another zero to his net worth, as Suh’s involvement would bring a semblance of legitimacy to the league. Suh’s freakish quickness and power coming off the line of scrimmage is an offensive lineman’s worst nightmare, and he brings an aggressive playing style that perfectly fits the vintage WWE aura that helped McMahon make the billions of dollars he has today—the nostalgic ’90s “attitude” era.  

When you merge a football player who has the workhorse mentality and charisma of The Rock with the tough, grind-it-out, don’t-take-no-BS-from-anyone swagger of Stone Cold Steve Austin, you’re bound to strike gold. Suh’s controversial play and remarks would make him an interesting figure the world would love to get to know more about in the XFL. It would be compelling because his personality outside of the gridiron is the complete opposite: He is very close friends with billionaire Warren Buffett and is considered to be one of the most philanthropic athletes of today’s generation.

How about this for a story line? From nearly becoming a Super Bowl champion with the L.A.Rams to becoming the face of an exciting new league.

It couldn’t be written better than that, and that plot may have McMahon smiling all the way to the bank.