Of course, when Vince announced he was resurrecting the XFL back in January 2018, he was adamant players with any history of "criminality" would NOT be eligible to play in the league.

When he was asked specifically about Johnny Manziel in 2018, McMahon said -- "You want someone who does not have any criminality whatsoever associated with them."

The problem for Manziel ... he DOES have criminality associated with him.

Manziel was indicted for misdemeanor assault stemming from a 2016 domestic violence incident with his then-girlfriend.

The case went in front of a judge -- and Manziel ultimately cut a deal where he agreed to take an anger management course and keep his nose clean and in exchange, the charge would be dropped.

Manziel successfully completed his end of the bargain -- and it seems the XFL is satisfied too.

Because, when XFL commish Oliver Luck appeared on the "PFT PM" podcast this week, he didn't slam the door on hiring Manziel.

"If he is able to meet our standards and if our coaches think he’s one of the top quarterbacks out there that can help us,” Luck said ... “Certainly we have no reason not to believe he couldn’t be in the mix."

"But, again it’s really up to our coaches in terms of the quarterbacks they wanna take a look at."

You gotta think XFL officials have discussed Manziel -- he's probably the biggest name out there that the league could realistically get.

The XFL could be a great option for Manziel who's had a rough football life after washing out of the NFL. He's been subsequently banned from the CFL and recently lost his job in the AAF when the league folded.