The landscape of professional action sports is set to undergo a fundamental transformation this Thursday night as 50 of the world’s most elite athletes congregate in Los Angeles for the inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Draft. This historic event, scheduled to take place at the state-of-the-art Cosm Los Angeles in Hollywood Park, marks the first time in the history of action sports that a professional team-based draft system has been implemented. Streaming live from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. PT, the draft will formalize the rosters for four global franchises, effectively pivoting the X Games from a series of standalone invitational events toward a structured, year-round league format.
The transition to the MoonPay X Games League represents a strategic evolution for a brand that has defined alternative sports for three decades. By introducing a coed team structure and a seasonal narrative, the XGL aims to foster long-term fan loyalty and provide athletes with a more stable professional framework. The draft will be accessible to a global audience through an extensive multi-platform distribution strategy, including the ESPN App in the United States and international broadcasts on The Roku Sports Channel, YouTube, Kick.com, and the X Games TV FAST Channel on Amazon.
A New Paradigm for Action Sports Competition
The MoonPay X Games League introduces a significant departure from the individualistic nature of traditional skateboarding, BMX, and freestyle competitions. Under the new format, the league will consist of four foundational clubs: XC Los Angeles, XC New York, XC São Paulo, and XC Tokyo. Each club is tasked with building a roster of 10 athletes, strictly divided into five men and five women. This 50-50 gender split underscores the league’s commitment to gender equity, ensuring that female athletes receive equal billing and competitive opportunities within the professional team structure.
The inaugural Summer 2026 season is scheduled to launch in June, focusing on summer disciplines such as skateboarding and BMX. However, the league’s vision extends into the winter months, with plans to debut winter disciplines—including skiing and snowboarding—under the same team-based format starting in 2027. This expansion is designed to keep the X Games brand relevant throughout the calendar year, moving away from the "event-only" model that characterized the property’s first 30 years.
The Draft Mechanics and Strategic Leadership
Thursday’s draft will see 40 athletes selected from a massive pool of 180 professionals who opted into the XGL system. The selection process will consist of five rounds, with eight selections per round. The draft order, which was determined via a randomized lottery held earlier this month, places XC New York in the first overall position, followed by XC Los Angeles, XC Tokyo, and XC São Paulo.
The strategic direction of each club rests in the hands of four General Managers, each a respected figure within the action sports community. Sharalee “Haze” Hazen will lead XC Los Angeles, a team expected to leverage the city’s status as the historic epicenter of skateboarding. Steve Rodriguez, a pioneer of the New York City skate scene, will manage XC New York. Bob Burnquist, one of the most decorated skateboarders in X Games history with 30 medals to his name, takes the helm of XC São Paulo, representing a Brazilian market that has become a powerhouse in professional skating. Finally, Harumi Suzuki will lead XC Tokyo, a franchise tapping into the explosive growth of action sports in Japan following the success of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The General Managers face the complex task of balancing rosters across multiple disciplines. Because the league requires a coed structure, the draft strategy must account for the depth of talent in both men’s and women’s categories across park, street, and vert competitions.
High-Stakes Talent: The Athlete Pool
The caliber of athletes available in the draft pool highlights the industry’s widespread buy-in to the new league format. Among the notable names expected to be drafted is Nyjah Huston, a 15-time X Games gold medalist and arguably the most famous street skateboarder in the world. Huston’s presence in the draft pool provides immediate legitimacy to the league’s commercial and competitive prospects.
Joining Huston is Arisa Trew, the teenage skateboarding sensation who recently captured gold at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Trew represents the new generation of athletes who have grown up in an era where action sports are recognized as mainstream Olympic disciplines. Other high-profile prospects include Tom Schaar, known for his versatility across park and vert ramps; Hannah Roberts, a two-time X Games BMX Park gold medalist and Olympic silver medalist; and Kevin Peraza, one of the most creative and decorated BMX riders in the history of the sport.
The inclusion of these athletes ensures that the XGL will feature the highest level of technical performance. For the athletes, the league offers a new incentive structure. Beyond individual prize money, the team format introduces a "team purse," and the collective scoring system means that every run contributes to the franchise’s standing in the hunt for the inaugural MoonPay X Games League championship.
Inaugural Season Timeline and Global Venues
The 2026 MoonPay X Games League Summer Season is structured as a high-intensity tour that culminates in a championship finale. The season officially kicks off on June 26 in Sacramento, California. As the state capital and a hub for regional action sports culture, Sacramento provides a domestic anchor for the league’s debut.
Following the opener, the league will travel internationally for X Games Japan, scheduled for July 4–5. This stop is critical for XC Tokyo, as it allows the franchise to compete in front of a home crowd in a market that has seen a surge in youth participation in skateboarding. The season will reach its climax from July 24–26 inside the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The choice of the Superdome—a venue synonymous with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints and major collegiate championships—signifies the X Games’ ambition to present action sports on a scale comparable to traditional major-league athletics.
At the conclusion of the New Orleans event, the team with the highest cumulative score across the three-stop season will be crowned the first MoonPay X Games League champion. This cumulative scoring system is intended to create a narrative arc throughout the summer, encouraging fans to follow team standings and rivalries as they develop.
Commercial Partnerships and Technological Innovation
The launch of the XGL is supported by a robust group of corporate partners, led by title sponsor MoonPay. As a leader in web3 infrastructure, MoonPay’s involvement suggests a focus on digital fan engagement, potentially including digital collectibles or enhanced fan-voting mechanisms. Monster Energy serves as the league’s founding partner, continuing its long-standing association with the X Games and the broader action sports world.
Additional partners supporting the inaugural season include Stake, Exodus, 805 Beer, High Noon, and Kraken Rum. The diversity of these sponsors—spanning tech, beverage, and gaming—reflects the broad demographic appeal of the X Games, which continues to over-index with the hard-to-reach Gen Z and Millennial audiences.
The choice of Cosm Los Angeles as the draft venue also highlights the league’s focus on technological innovation. Cosm’s "Shared Reality" technology features a massive LED dome that provides an immersive viewing experience, bridging the gap between a live event and a high-definition broadcast. By hosting the draft in such a venue, the XGL is signaling its intent to utilize cutting-edge production values to modernize the presentation of action sports.
Broader Implications for the Industry
The formation of the MoonPay X Games League comes at a pivotal moment for action sports. Following the acquisition of a majority stake in the X Games by MSP Sports Capital from ESPN in 2022, there has been a clear shift toward professionalizing the property’s business model. The league structure addresses several long-standing challenges in the industry, most notably the lack of a consistent schedule and the difficulty for fans to follow athletes outside of biennial Olympic cycles or once-a-year X Games events.
Industry analysts suggest that the team format could unlock new revenue streams, including franchise valuations, localized sponsorships for the specific city-based clubs, and more lucrative media rights deals. By creating "XC New York" or "XC São Paulo," the league is tapping into the tribalism of sports fandom, allowing residents of those cities to support a team in the same way they might support a local soccer or basketball club.
Furthermore, the coed requirement sets a new standard for professional sports leagues. While many sports have separate men’s and women’s divisions, the XGL’s integrated team scoring system means that a club cannot win without strong performances from both genders. This move is expected to drive further investment in women’s action sports, as GMs will be highly incentivized to recruit and develop top-tier female talent to ensure their team’s overall success.
As the draft approaches this Thursday, the action sports community is poised to enter an era defined by collaboration, regional identity, and structured competition. The MoonPay X Games League Draft is not merely a selection of athletes; it is the blueprint for the future of the X Games brand and a bold experiment in how alternative sports can adapt to a changing global sports market.
