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]

Premier Lacrosse League
SportField lacrosse
Founded2018
FounderMike Rabil and Paul Rabil
Inaugural season2019
No. of teams8
Countries United States
 Canada
HeadquartersEl Segundo, California
Most recent
champion(s)
Chaos LC
(1st title)
Most titlesWhipsnakes LC
(2 titles)
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+
Official websitepremierlacrosseleague.com

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 eight 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]

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] The PLL has an exclusive partnership with DraftKings, covering betting on the league's matches.[15] The league also partners with Gatorade, as the beverage company acts as one of the league's founding sponsors.[16] On July 22, 2021, HEX Performance was named the 'official laundry partner' of the PLL.[17]

Teams

Team Joined Head Coach
Archers Lacrosse Club2019Chris Bates
Atlas Lacrosse ClubBen Rubeor
Cannons Lacrosse Club2021Sean Quirk
Chaos Lacrosse Club2019Andy Towers
Chrome Lacrosse ClubTim Soudan
Redwoods Lacrosse ClubNat St. Laurent
Waterdogs Lacrosse Club2020Andy Copelan
Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club2019Jim Stagnitta

Expansion

PLL Progression
Year Teams Games played
2019 6 teams 10 games
2020 7 teams group play
2021 8 teams 9 games
2022 10 games

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.[18] An expansion draft took place on February 12 and an entry draft occurred on March 16 to build the new roster with veteran players.[19]

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 eight.[20] Small tweaks to the former Boston Cannons branding resulted in a PLL crest and logo reveal on January 12, 2021.[21]

Championship history

Season Date Champions Score Runner-up Venue Location Attendance Game MVP
2019 September 21 Whipsnakes LC 12–11 (OT) Redwoods LC Talen Energy Stadium Chester, PA 12,556 Matt Rambo
2020 August 9 Whipsnakes LC 12–6 Chaos LC Zions Bank Stadium Herriman, Utah No fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic Zed Williams
2021 September 19 Chaos LC 14-9 Whipsnakes LC Audi Field Washington, D.C. 16,322 +\- Blaze Riorden

Active Awards

Jim Brown Most Valuable Player

YearPlayerTeamPosition
2019Matt RamboWhipsnakes LCAttack
2020Zed WilliamsWhipsnakes LCAttack
2021Blaze RiordenChaos LCGoalie

Eamon McEneaney Attackman of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Matt RamboWhipsnakes LC
2020Zed WilliamsWhipsnakes LC
2021Grant AmentArchers LC

Gait Brothers Midfielder of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Tom SchreiberArchers LC
2020Tom SchreiberArchers LC
2021Zach CurrierWaterdogs LC

Dave Pietramala Defensive Player of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Jarrod NeumannChaos LC
2020Matt DunnWhipsnakes LC
2021Graeme HossackArchers LC

Brodie Merrill Long Stick Midfielder of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Michael EhrhardtWhipsnakes LC
2020Michael EhrhardtWhipsnakes LC
2021Michael EhrhardtWhipsnakes LC

Paul Cantabene Faceoff Athlete of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Trevor BaptisteAtlas LC
2020Joe NardellaWhipsnakes LC
2021Trevor BaptisteAtlas LC

George Boiardi Short Stick Midfielder of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Dominique AlexanderArchers LC
2020Ty WarnerWhipsnakes LC
2021Danny LoganAtlas LC

Oren Lyons Goalie of the Year

YearPlayerTeam
2019Tim TroutnerRedwoods LC
2020Blaze RiordenChaos LC
2021Blaze RiordenChaos LC

Rookie of the Year

YearPlayerTeamPosition
2019Tim TroutnerRedwoods LCGoalie
2021Jeff TeatAtlas LCAttack

Dick Edell Coach of the Year

YearCoachTeam
2019Andy TowersChaos LC
2021Andy CopelanWaterdogs LC

Jimmy Regan Teammate of the Year

YearPlayerTeamPosition
2019Mark GliciniChaos LCMidfield
2021Jack KellyRedwoods LCGoalie

Brendan Looney Leadership Award

YearPlayerTeamPosition
2019Kyle HarrisonRedwoods LCMidfield
2021Kyle HarrisonRedwoods LCMidfield

Dave Huntley Sportsmanship Award

YearPlayerTeamPosition
2019Connor FarrellChrome LCFaceoff
2021Eric LawAtlas LCAttack

Welles Crowther Humanitarian Award

YearPlayerTeamPosition
2019Scott RatliffArchers LCLong-stick midfield
2021Lyle ThompsonCannons LCAttack

Hall of Fame

On February 15, 2022, the Premier Lacrosse League announced the inaugural class of the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame. In order to be eligible for selection, a player must:

  • Be retired from professional play for at least three years
  • Have played five seasons in MLL/PLL
  • Be nominated by a member of the Hall of Fame committee and receive a 75 percent majority vote

The inaugural class was:[22]

Attack

Midfield

Defense

Goaltender

Specialist

References

  1. DaSilva, Matt (October 22, 2018). "Paul Rabil's Premier Lacrosse League Launches". US Lacrosse Magazine.
  2. Soshnick, Scott (February 12, 2019). "Rabil's Lacrosse League Gets Investment From Alibaba Billionaire". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  3. Soshnick, Scott; Boudway, Ira (October 22, 2018). "Wall Street's Lacrosse Fraternity Backs Rabil's New League". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  4. 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.
  5. "NBC Sports Group, Paul Rabil launch Premier Lacrosse League" (Press release). NBC Sports. October 22, 2018.
  6. "Premier Lacrosse League Announces 140-Plus Player List". Inside Lacrosse (Press release). October 22, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  7. Jastrzembski, Chris (October 22, 2018). "Premier Lacrosse League introduced: Players, media deal, funding all announced". College Crosse. SB Nation. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  8. "PLL Announces 17 Additional Players to League Roster". Inside Lacrosse (Press release). December 6, 2018. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  9. "New Pro Lacrosse League". Barstool Sports. September 25, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  10. Foy, Terry (October 22, 2018). "PLL Announcement". Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  11. "IMG Academy Named Official Preseason Training Facility of Premier Lacrosse League". Premier Lacrosse League (Press release). April 9, 2019.
  12. "adidas & Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announce groundbreaking partnership" (Press release). Adidas. April 10, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  13. "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.
  14. Soshnik, Scott (February 27, 2020). "Premier Lacrosse League Adds Ticketmaster Name in Rights Deal". Bloomberg.
  15. "Premier Lacrosse League & DraftKings Announce Sports Betting Partnership for PLL Championship Series". Premier Lacrosse League. July 16, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  16. @premierlacrosse (August 12, 2019). "We Are Excited to Formally Announce Gatorade as a Founding Partner of the Premier Lacrosse League! As the Leader in Sports Fuel, Gatorade Will Provide PLL Athletes with a Portfolio of Products to Provide Fuel, Hydration and Recovery to Play Their Best on Game Day" (Tweet). Retrieved February 27, 2021 via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. "HEX Performance Named the Official Laundry Partner of the Premier Lacrosse League". July 8, 2021.
  18. Pickman, Ben (January 1, 2020). "How the PLL Developed Its First Expansion Team, Waterdogs Lacrosse Club". Sports Illustrated.
  19. DeJohn, Kenny (March 16, 2020). "Premier Lacrosse League Entry Draft Results". US Lacrosse Magazine.
  20. Turner, Nick (December 16, 2020). "Premier Lacrosse League Merging With Rival in Bid to Unify Sport". Bloomberg News. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  21. "Premier Lacrosse League Unveils New Logo, Branding for Cannons LC". US Lacrosse Magazine. January 12, 2021.
  22. "PLL Announces Inaugural Class of Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
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