🔊 Inside The Premier Lacrosse League's $100 Million Raise

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The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) closed a $100 million Series E funding round, marking the largest capital raise in professional lacrosse history.

The round valued the league at over $500 million and was led by notable investors, including Ares Management and Joe Tsai, with minority investment from ESPN. Additional celebrity investors include actor, writer, and producer Glen Powell; co-chairman of Wrexham AFC; actor and producer Rob Mac; country music singer and songwriter Warren Zeiders; and actor Tony Cavaler.

Additional investors in the league include Creator Sports Capital, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett's Next 3, FirstTracks Sports Ventures, Jed Hart, West End Investment Management, James Young, Bolt Ventures (the private investment platform of David Blitzer), Chris Shumway, and others.

The funding will be directed toward four priorities: expanding media distribution and original storytelling, growing sponsorship and commercial partnerships, deepening investment in the Women's Lacrosse League, and broadening access to youth lacrosse to make the game more affordable and accessible.

It’s also designed to accelerate the league's growth ahead of lacrosse's return to the Olympic stage at LA28.

Why This Matters

What’s most interesting about this, and what you might not know, is that lacrosse is America’s oldest sport.

Older than basketball, football, and even baseball.

Lacrosse originated in the early 12th century among Indigenous nations and was initially played for spiritual healing, conflict resolution, and physical preparation for war.

Yet, given its history compared to other sports, it’s wild that it took almost a thousand years to commercialize and professionalize.

In short, what co-founders Paul and Mike Rabil are building has long been overdue.

Since the league’s founding in 2018, it’s been on a meteoric rise, turning a hyper-localized niche sport into a nationally distributed, sponsor-worthy product.

Let’s take a quick look at the numbers:

Revenue numbers aren’t disclosed. That said, they signed a five-year media rights deal last year with ESPN through 2030, estimated at around eight figures.

Not to mention, they have major corporate sponsors such as US Bank, Lexus, Nike, Maybelline, IBM, Whirlpool, Polymarket, Gatorade, Rebel Bourbon, Ticketmaster, Cascade, STX, and VensureHR.

But what really sets the PLL apart from most other emerging leagues is its structure.

The PLL operates as a single-entity model, meaning it owns all teams, giving it full control over scheduling, media rights, and player distribution.

This allows for a simpler, more scalable foundation as they transition into independent team ownership around 2028.

Plus, each player is granted stock options on top of their salary, giving them equity in the league, something rarely seen in professional sports.

All of this points to premium, competitive expansion fees when the time comes.

With LA28 on the horizon, lacrosse is returning to the Olympics for the first time in over a century and is well-positioned to make an impact.

In an era when emerging leagues are everywhere, the PLL might be the most underrated and most sustainable one out there.

The sport that started it all is finally getting its moment.

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