EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (BVM) — Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States today. The rise in participation has been fertile ground for the creation of a new lacrosse league, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL). 

The PLL was founded in 2019 by professional lacrosse player and Team USA member, Paul Rabil and his brother, Mike. It was established to be a competitor to the already successful Major League Lacrosse (MLL) league where players can receive benefits such as salaries, health care, and equity. 

The league began back in 2019 with six teams; the Archers, Whipsnakes, Atlas, Redwoods, Chaos, and Chrome Lacrosse Clubs. The tournament was built on a summer tour based model in which teams would travel to various cities across the country for 14 weeks with the top two contesting the finals in Philadelphia that year. 

The Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club became the first team to hoist the trophy when they defeated the Redwoods Lacrosse Club in an overtime brawl that ended with a score of 12-11. The young league’s momentum carried on into 2020.

BACK 2 BACK pic.twitter.com/hgerjAYRO3

— Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club (@PLLWhipsnakes) August 9, 2020

Undeterred by the arrival of COVID-19, the league held a bubble-quarantine season in Utah. It was here where the Whipsnakes went on an undefeated run and won their second title. The league also added it’s seventh team, Waterdogs Lacrosse Club. Later in the year, the league announced its merger with the MLL and added it’s eighth team, the Cannons Lacrosse Club (a former team of the MLL). 

The league now enters its third season which began on June 4 in Boston and things have been going great for them during its short existence. The league’s media broadcast deal with NBC has earned them a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 341,000 on its opening weekend last year (the second most for an outdoor pro lacrosse event in media history) and 155,000 for their championship game last year (the most watched PLL game) according to the PLL. 

The growth in viewership has done wonders for the sport of lacrosse and the league has even garnered attention from notable faces such as Patriots’ head coach, Bill Belichick, former Saints’ quarterback, Drew Brees, and late night talk show host, Seth Meyers.

Tonight.

Lacrosse hits Late Night 🥍@PaulRabil @LateNightSeth pic.twitter.com/V47tdcjTYj

— Premier Lacrosse League (@PremierLacrosse) June 16, 2021

The growing popularity of the league and sport in general makes it a worthy target for investors. According to Statista, the number of players within the sport of lacrosse has risen exponentially every year since 2001, with the sport recording approximately 829,423 active players in 2018. 

The PLL was able to catch the eye of New England Patriots owner, Robert Kraft. Kraft along with Brooklyn Nets owner, Joe Tsai, will become the leaders of a new funding round for the league. The PLL has always had ties to Robert Kraft and his organizations, as the league’s first ever set of games were played in Gillette Stadium. 

With all this being said, the investment of Mr. Kraft, Mr. Tsai, and others to the PLL is undoubtedly a game-changer that can truly help the sport of lacrosse and the PLL grow and reach the same levels as the other major sporting leagues in America. The PLL season now enters its all-star weekend this week in San Jose, Calif.