XFL hires former Bills CEO Russ Brandon as the President of the League

If you are a Buffalo Bills fan you know Russ Brandon well. Six days after the Florida Marlins won the World Series, Russ Brandon was hired by the Buffalo Bills back in 1997. Well today, the XFL named Brandon the President of the XFL.

According to Kevin Seifart, Brandon was not the only one hired.

Also joining the league is former New York Giants personnel evaluator Marc Ross, who will serve as executive vice president of football operations and be responsible for all on-field operations. His deputy will be former Bills general manager Doug Whaley, who worked in a similar capacity for the XFL in 2020 under previous owner Vince McMahon.

In addition to Whaley, three other former XFL executives were rehired. They include Janet Duch, the former president of the XFL’s New York Guardians who is now the chief marketing and content officer, and former chief marketing and commercial officer Jordan Schlachter, who is now chief business officer. Senior vice president, enterprise technology Scott Harniman and senior vice president, people operations Cindy Wagner returned in the same capacity.

New hires include chief financial officer Rob Gerbe, a former NBA executive, and senior vice president, broadcast operations Jay Rothman, a former vice president of production at ESPN.

Brandon was first named to a high-level executive position within the franchise in 2006, being named director of non-football operations alongside general manager Marv Levy. Brandon was promoted to CEO upon the hiring of Buddy Nix as the Bills’ general manager.

An influential NFL executive, Brandon also serves on several league business and marketing committees. As CEO, Brandon increased his influence on the team and handled most of its day-to-day operations while owner Ralph Wilson’s health began to decline. This culminated in Wilson officially naming Brandon as president on January 1, 2013, giving Brandon full control over the franchise.

Brandon is the third person to serve as president of the Bills, after Wilson and Tom Donahoe. Since Wilson’s retirement, Brandon had served as the team’s representative in owners’ meetings in lieu of Wilson, a position he continued even as his widow inherited the trust that held ownership of the team.