Rabil brothers startup the Premier Lacrosse League continues to expand and grow the sport this year with its 3rd season debuting on June 4th in Boston, Massachusetts. The PLL’s ever-expanding popularity has led Lacrosse to become a more mainstream sport. Not many know but The PLL was created by Paul Rabil and his brother Mike Rabil after the former Major League Lacrosse or MLL didn’t cut it anymore.

The MLL lasted for a total of 20 years, and this was the main league until it started to die off and get fewer viewers. It failed to give players a salary they could comfortably live off; it also failed to have rules that would suit better Lacrosse players and give upcoming talent a chance to play. These factors led the Rabil brothers and a bunch of investors, sponsors, and players to group and create The Premier Lacrosse League in 2018. This was only the beginning of the new Lacrosse league.

This new league took the sponsors from the old league to take funding and form a league that could have better rules and a better salary. For example, in the PLL they are sponsored by Adidas so you will see people playing in Adidas shoes, another sponsor is NBC sports group. This is an important sponsor because PLL needs a station to broadcast their games to make money for viewers and people can watch in the comfort of their homes. These sponsors help the league because without sponsors it would be really hard to start a league that costs money, even though there are only 2 sponsors listed in this paragraph the PLL has many more than just 2. Each team also has a different amount of sponsors, no one has the same amount.

The PLL has changed completely from its predecessor the MLL which has led to its major success. It’s done this by creating a whole new system. New rules such as shorter fields, a fifty-two-second shot clock, and a 2 point line have made the game much quicker and more enjoyable. For a while, viewership has been a problem for Lacrosse. This new rule helps kids and adults be more interested in the game.Furthermore, the league’s new rules made it much easier for new players to come to try out and play with teams. This allows talent that previously might have gone unseen to Lacrosse coaches to be in the spotlight.

Previously players in the NCAA and MLL had many restrictions limiting what they could wear and do to their equipment but with the PLL they stripped that all away allowing players to have freedom. This encouraged players from other leagues to join the PLL over say the MLL or NLL. Another factor that led to the rise of the PLL was the fact that the MLL failed to give players a salary they could comfortably live off; it also failed to have rules that would suit better Lacrosse players and give upcoming talent a chance to play. The PLL for the first time in Lacrosse history gave players a full salary with bonuses for only playing the part of the year. Another extremely important factor was the PLL’s use of social media. To help grow and improve the sport the PLL is all over Youtube, Instagram, and Tiktok promoting their brand and attracting young audiences. This is a major improvement over the previous quiet MLL which had no social media presence. These factors led to the fall of the MLL and the rise of PLL but it wasn’t easy. 

After covid swarmed the world, the PLL had to make some changes to ensure the safety of their players and coaches. An example of this was when they delayed season 2. Covid delayed season 2 due to constant quarantine and testing. To help speed up new matches they were able to change 14-day quarantines into 10 days, including tests and symptom checkups with a medical team. Before every practice or game, they would need to take a covid test to ensure safety and no quarantine to delay the season. They also increased their connectivity so if any player got covid they would be able to find out who would need to quarantine to make sure they also didn’t have covid. Overall covid delayed the PLL however due to smart planning they were able to play season 2 and still have a successful season.

The PLL’s growth from 2019 to 2020 is extremely promising for the growth of the sport. The PLL championship in 2019 brought in 276,000 viewers compared to The PLL championship of 2020 drew a total audience of 340,000 viewers on NBC, an increase of 23%. The 2019 PLL season saw viewership of the first game at a total of 334,000 views. On the other hand, in the first game of the PLL in 2020, the total viewership of the opening game was 341,000 total views between Atlas and the Waterdogs held at Zions Bank Stadium. In the end, the winner was the undefeated Whipsnake to win for a second consecutive time. No wonder why that game brought in so much because the whole time it was a high-scoring game going back and forth both ways. As for today, the PLL is soon to start up, and we all can’t wait to see what these teams bring this summer. 

In conclusion, the PLL is already showing more improvement than the MLL and they have only been around for 3 years including the shutdown due to covid. The PLL already has enough money to pay a salary for the players and they have improved on their rules making for a better game. The improved rules make for a faster, more competitive game of Lacrosse while still making it fair for the teams. For all of these reasons talked about, the PLL is already improving and growing better than the MLL.