Premier Lacrosse League
Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is an American professional field lacrosse league. The league's inaugural season debuted on June 1, 2019, and included a 14-week tour-based schedule taking place in 12 major-market cities.[1] The league was founded by the American professional lacrosse player Paul Rabil and his brother Mike Rabil. Investors include The Chernin Group, The Raine Group and Joe Tsai.[2]
 | |
| Sport | Field lacrosse |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2018 by Mike Rabil and Paul Rabil |
| Inaugural season | 2019 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Countries | United States, Canada |
| Headquarters | El Segundo, California |
| Most recent champion(s) | Whipsnakes LC (2nd title) |
| Most titles | Whipsnakes LC (2 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | NBC Sports Group |
| Official website | premierlacrosseleague.com |
 2021 PLL season | |
About
In September 2018, Bloomberg reported that Paul Rabil would be launching a new professional lacrosse league. The PLL would be a direct competitor to the more established Major League Lacrosse. The new league will provide professional lacrosse players with salaries, health care, and league equity.[3]
The league's media model radically differs from that of most North American professional sports leagues. A 2018 Sports Illustrated story on the then-prospective league pointed out that LeBron James' Instagram account "features virtually no clips of him playing basketball—those are the property of the NBA, meaning its owners." By contrast, the PLL open-sources its highlights, allowing players to freely use them to build their own personal brands. Additionally, PLL operates a full-time studio that produces other player-centered content.[4]
The PLL features seven teams, each with a 26-player roster. As opposed to tying teams to a specific market, the league tours 12 different "major market cities". The season includes 14 weeks, comprising 10 regular-season weekends, 1 all-star weekend, and 3 playoff weekends, running from June 1 through September 21, assuring there is no overlap with the NCAA Lacrosse or National Lacrosse League seasons.[5]
PLL's rules are the same as MLL, including the shot clock & golden goal periods.
By October 2018, 140 players had been signed by the PLL. Of the 140 players are 86 All-Americans, 25 members of the U.S. national team, and 10 former Tewaaraton Award winners.[6][7] By December the league had signed 17 additional players.[8]
Draft
For the League's inaugural season, the PLL had the 6 founding teams draft a player in each of the 4 rounds. For the first round there was a random draw and the reverse the order every round. Archers had the first draft pick in the newly formed league. Taking Pat Spencer making him the first player ever drafted in the PLL.
Media and business partners
The league has signed an exclusive media rights agreement with NBC Sports Group.[9][10]
The IMG Academy is the official Preseason Training Facility.[11] Adidas is the exclusive footwear and apparel brand.[12] Capital One Bank will be the official bank sponsor for the entire PLL and the jersey patch sponsor for the Atlas LC.[13] In February 2020, Ticketmaster signed a deal with the PLL to become the official ticket sales company of the league, as well as having their name added to the league’s name, making it “Premier Lacrosse League Powered by Ticketmaster”.[14]
Teams
| Team | Joined | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Archers Lacrosse Club | 2019 | Chris Bates |
| Atlas Lacrosse Club | Ben Rubeor | |
| Cannons Lacrosse Club | 2021 | Sean Quirk |
| Chaos Lacrosse Club | 2019 | Andy Towers |
| Chrome Lacrosse Club | Tim Soudan | |
| Redwoods Lacrosse Club | Nat St. Laurent | |
| Waterdogs Lacrosse Club | 2020 | Andy Copelan |
| Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club | 2019 | Jim Stagnitta |
Possible future teams
On December 16, 2020, the PLL and MLL announced that the two leagues would merge under the banner of the PLL. The PLL announced that they would accept the Boston Cannons as the 8th PLL team. The PLL has not formally announced whether or not the remaining MLL teams will fold or join the Boston Cannons as future expansion teams which leaves their futures undecided.[15] Below is a list of the MLL teams that have not announced whether or not they will fold or join the PLL.
| Team | Joined | Head Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Chesapeake Bayhawks | TBD | TBD |
| Connecticut Hammerheads | TBD | |
| Denver Outlaws | TBD | |
| New York Lizards | TBD | |
| Philadelphia Barrage | TBD | |
| Charlotte Hounds | TBD | |
Expansion
| Year | Teams | Games played |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6 teams | 10 games |
| 2020 | 7 teams | group play |
| 2021 | 8 teams | TBD |
2020
The addition of the Waterdogs Lacrosse Club, a seventh team for the 2020 season, allows for natural bye weeks to occur for each team throughout the season. Paul Rabil first hinted at expansion in a post game interview after the 2019 Championship game and on January 1, 2020 the Premier Lacrosse League announced the Waterdogs identity.[16] An expansion draft took place on February 12 and an entry draft occurred on March 16 to build the new roster with veteran players.[17]
2021
On December 16, 2020 it was announced that the PLL and MLL had merged under the banner of the PLL. The PLL would add the Boston Cannons for the 2021 season, rebranded as the Cannons Lacrosse Club, to bring the total PLL teams to 8.[15] Small tweaks to the former Boston Cannons resulted in a PLL crest and logo reveal on January 12, 2021.[18]
Championship history
| Season | Champions | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Location | Attendance | Game MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Whipsnakes LC | 12–11 (OT) | Redwoods LC | Talen Energy Stadium | Chester, PA | 12,556 | Matt Rambo |
| 2020 | Whipsnakes LC | 12–6 | Chaos LC | Zions Bank Stadium | Herriman, Utah | No fans due to COVID-19 pandemic | Zed Williams |
Active Awards
Jim Brown Most Valuable Player
| Year | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Matt Rambo | Whipsnakes LC | Attack |
| 2020 | Zed Williams | Whipsnakes LC | Attack |
Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Matt Rambo | Whipsnakes LC |
| 2020 | Zed Williams | Whipsnakes LC |
Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Tom Schreiber | Archers LC |
| 2020 | Tom Schreiber | Archers LC |
Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Jarrod Neumann | Chaos LC |
| 2020 | Matt Dunn | Whipsnakes LC |
Brodie Merrill Long Stick Midfielder of the Year
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Michael Ehrhardt | Whipsnakes LC |
| 2020 | Michael Ehrhardt | Whipsnakes LC |
Paul Cantabene Faceoff Athlete of the Year
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Trevor Baptiste | Atlas LC |
| 2020 | Joe Nardella | Whipsnakes LC |
George Boiardi Short Stick Midfielder of the Year
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Dominique Alexander | Archers LC |
| 2020 | Ty Warner | Whipsnakes LC |
Rookie of the Year
| Year | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Tim Troutner | Redwoods LC | Goalie |
Dick Edell Coach of the Year
| Year | Coach | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Andy Towers | Chaos LC |
Brendan Looney Leadership Award
| Year | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kyle Harrison | Redwoods LC | Midfield |
Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award
| Year | Player | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Scott Ratliff | Archers LC | Long-stick midfield |
References
- DaSilva, Matt (October 22, 2018). "Paul Rabil's Premier Lacrosse League Launches". US Lacrosse Magazine.
- Soshnick, Scott (February 12, 2019). "Rabil's Lacrosse League Gets Investment From Alibaba Billionaire". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- Soshnick, Scott; Boudway, Ira (October 22, 2018). "Wall Street's Lacrosse Fraternity Backs Rabil's New League". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
- Reiter, Ben (November 16, 2018). "Can a New Barnstorming, Player-Centric Lacrosse League Serve as a Template for Other Sports?". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- "NBC Sports Group, Paul Rabil launch Premier Lacrosse League" (Press release). NBC Sports. October 22, 2018.
- "Premier Lacrosse League Announces 140-Plus Player List". Inside Lacrosse (Press release). October 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- Jastrzembski, Chris (October 22, 2018). "Premier Lacrosse League introduced: Players, media deal, funding all announced". College Crosse. SB Nation. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- "PLL Announces 17 Additional Players to League Roster". Inside Lacrosse (Press release). December 6, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- "New Pro Lacrosse League". Barstool Sports. September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- Foy, Terry (October 22, 2018). "PLL Announcement". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
- "IMG ACADEMY NAMED OFFICIAL PRESEASON TRAINING FACILITY OF PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE". Premier Lacrosse League (Press release). April 9, 2019.
- "adidas & Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announce groundbreaking partnership" (Press release). Adidas. April 10, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- "Premier Lacrosse League announces Capital One as league's Official Business Banking Partner". Premier Lacrosse League (Press release). June 7, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
- Soshnik, Scott (February 27, 2020). "Premier Lacrosse League Adds Ticketmaster Name in Rights Deal". Bloomberg.
- Turner, Nick (December 16, 2020). "Premier Lacrosse League Merging With Rival in Bid to Unify Sport". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- Pickman, Ben (January 1, 2020). "How the PLL Developed Its First Expansion Team, Waterdogs Lacrosse Club". Sports Illustrated.
- DeJohn, Kenny (March 16, 2020). "Premier Lacrosse League Entry Draft Results". US Lacrosse Magazine.
- "Premier Lacrosse League Unveils New Logo, Branding for Cannons LC". US Lacrosse Magazine. January 12, 2021.