X Games Announces New Team League Competition Format

A big change is coming to the world of action sports competition starting in 2026. X Games has announced the inception of X Games League (XGL), which will offer a new team-based style of competition that will offer a season-round calendar for both summer and winter action sports.

X Game's new competition series is backed by MSP Sports Capital (MSP), a Najafi Cos. portfolio company, and will enable athletes to earn compensation beyond the $2.4 million already awarded through existing prize purses.

“In essence, we’ve used Formula One as a model for this new X Games League,” said Jeff Moorad, Executive Chairman of X Games and Principal of MSP Sports Capital. “To that end, we are creating a year-round calendar and introducing new commercial opportunities to accelerate the overall growth of X Games. These opportunities will provide a secure and sustainable future for our most important stakeholders – the athletes. By leveraging the precious X Games brand, we will create a durable, global business that will be good for athletes, fans, investors, and sponsors.”

X Games will continue to embrace the seasonal nature of action sports, with both a Summer XGL and a Winter XGL – each initially composed of four global events and a minimum of four teams, and plans to grow from there. The competition schedules will include X Games signature events and strategic collaborations with existing competitions. The long-term competition model aims to grow action sports globally offer athletes a greater sense of financial security and the opportunity for a stable career path within action sports competition. 

Current investors include snowboard superpipe juggernaut and nine times X Games medalist, Scott James, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and seven-time X-Games Gold Medalist Chloe Kim, Grammy Award-winning producer and DJ Diplo, and gaming superstar Ninja.

X Games League may not intend to compete with athlete-founded alternative competitions like SLVSH and Jib League but offer more consistent competition and financial opportunities for athletes competing in existing X Games disciplines like superpipe, big air, and slopestyle. On Thursday, June 27 in Ventura CA, X Games will launch the X Games Forum, where future details on the X Games League will be presented ahead of the weekend's festivities for X Games Ventura.