One of the most decorated X Games athletes of all time, Nyjah Huston, will be part of the team team-draft format. Photo: X Games
X Games has changed — a LOT. Well, more like, grown. In addition to its traditional form of competition (which will continue), the X Games League (XGL) has officially arrived with three summer stops announced and the first-ever XGL Draft set for Thursday, March 12 at the Cosm in Los Angeles.
And the draft is only the beginning. This will be the first of a whole slew of changes to come, all of which will be repeated with snowboarding and skiing, for another three stops in the winter to follow. Moving to six events is a major increase from recent years, which featured a single stop during the winter followed by stops in the U.S. and a slightly smaller-scale event in Japan.
You may have seen a few things in the feed or heard rumblings of what’s to come, but we put all the pieces together here so you can see the bigger picture.
4 teams will draft 40 athletes
On Thursday, a total of 40 skateboard and BMX athletes will be drafted onto four, 10-person (5 women, 5 men) X Games Clubs representing Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, and São Paulo. Drafted athletes will each receive a base salary or “service fee” of $30,000 over the course of the season, regardless of when picked. When they are picked, though, will be critical.
X Games League athletes drafted in Round 1 and Round 2 will have the choice between a two-year or three-year “assignment” with that team. Athletes chosen in Round 3, Round 4, and Round 5 receive 3-year team assignments. Each team will draft two athletes per round: 1 man and 1 woman. No trading of athletes between teams is allowed once the season begins.
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This will lock in their spots on a team, as well as secure their invitations, travel, and accommodations at each summer X Games stop where they will have additional opportunities to win prize earnings. The summer 2026 X Games event schedule features Sacramento (June 26-28), Japan (July 4-5), and New Orleans (July 24-26). Prize purses per stop have not yet been announced, but prize money will be awarded to athletes who finish in the top eight.
Once the season begins, athletes will receive 100 percent of their “service fee” regardless of injuries sustained during the season. However, if their team goes on to win the championship, the injured player’s earnings will be prorated based on the stops they participated in.
Same top names, one team champion
X Games has announced that 180 athletes (including the usual suspects such as Nyjah Huston, Arisa Trew, Tom Schaar, R-Willy, and a ton more) have listed themselves as eligible for the draft, 52 of which are viewable on the X Games Instagram account. For now, though, we wait for the four general managers to make their selections and set this inaugural season in motion. The teams, or X Games Clubs, are led by Bob Burnquist for Club São Paulo, Steve Rodriguez for Club New York, Sharalee Hazen for Club Los Angeles, and Harumi Suzuki for Club Tokyo.
Teams will be ranked against one another based on the cumulative results of the individuals, with only one score per discipline counting, meaning the more diverse and dominant the roster, the better. Still, teams are allowed to draft more than one athlete from the same discipline. Although the exact disciplines to be contested at each stop have yet to be announced, we can expect to see the skateboard disciplines of street, street best trick, park, vert, and vert best trick; and the BMX disciplines of street, park, park best trick, dirt, and dirt best trick.
The XGL Championship will be in New Orleans for this first summer season, and the highest-ranked team will “take home a lot of money” along with the XGL title. For individuals, too; points will be earned, championship titles claimed, and more monies awarded.
Still, at its core, X Games seems to be holding onto its roots. In addition to the 40 drafted athletes, each contest will continue to invite and host the world’s best to round out the fields of competition. The non-drafted athletes just won’t factor into the team rankings. Individual stops will continue to award X Games medals per discipline, adding to 30 years of history and legacy. X Games has confirmed that Moto X will continue to be contested at summer stops, just not as part of the league. On the winter side, Aspen 2026 saw a return of Snowmobile X — another promising sight for fan faithfuls. The X Games has also launched a Legends Program to involve its former athletes and pay homage to its heritage.
It’s still the proving grounds
In summary, expect to see a LOT of X Games highlights as this inaugural year progresses. The same level of boundary testing tricks and proving grounds-type mentalities will be on display as before. But now you can expect everything to be packaged alongside new records, new rivalries, and new opportunities for athletes to earn. There are already talks of new teams to be added before next year’s draft.
If you want to see who lands where, the XGL Draft will stream live Thursday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. PST on ESPN, Roku Sports Channel, Kick.com, and X Games on YouTube.
Just one question remains: do you think they’ll wear uniforms?
