ESPN Secures Minority Equity Stake In Premier Lacrosse League
ESPN has secured a minority equity stake in the Premier Lacrosse League, joining a long lineup of notable sports companies that have invested in the PLL since the Rabil brothers co-founded the upstart league in 2018.
ESPN also extended its media rights agreement with the PLL through the 2030 season. ESPN is currently in the final year of a four-year deal to air all of the PLL's games. It is the first time ESPN has publicly disclosed an equity investment in a sports league. The Walt Disney Co., ESPN's parent company, once owned franchises in the National Hockey League (Anaheim Ducks) and Major League Baseball (Los Angeles Angels), but it sold those teams more than 20 years ago.
'What this deal shows is our willingness to be incredibly creative when it comes to the types of deals that we're doing with our partners,' said Matt Kenny, an ESPN vice president of programming and acquisitions. 'I think it just reinforces our trust and confidence in the PLL, specifically with the leadership team and the overall growth of pro lacrosse…We not only believe in the present of the PLL, but also its future.'
Paul Rabil, the PLL's president, would not reveal the percentage of the league that ESPN now owns or what the league's valuation is following the deal. But he said no other investors were involved in this round. The PLL last raised money in 2022 when the league completed a Series D round of funding led by the Chernin Group, which was one of the league's initial backers.
The PLL's other investors include Creative Arts Agency, Joe Tsai Sports, Arctos, the Raine Group, the Kraft Group, World Wrestling Entertainment and 35V, the family office of NBA star Kevin Durant. All told, the league has raised $118 million, according to PitchBook.
Rabil said ESPN's investment 'signals belief in in our case, lacrosse's growth and the commercial potential of lacrosse.' He added that ESPN could benefit financially from the deal when the league either is sold outright or decides to sell franchises to outside investors. The PLL is a wholly-owned entity, meaning the league itself owns the eight franchises that compete. It is a similar arrangement to the UFC, a mixed martial arts league that sold for $4 billion in 2016, but a different model than the NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball, where the league doesn't own any of the franchises.
Rabil, one of the best lacrosse players in history, launched the PLL while still playing professionally. His older brother, Mike, was a former Dartmouth football player and successful entrepreneur and investor. The PLL had its first season in 2019 and merged with its leading competitor, Major League Lacrosse, in December 2020. The league kept the PLL name and the media rights deal with NBC Sports, which the Rabils had earlier struck when they founded the league. ESPN obtained the PLL's media rights in 2022.
When the extension kicks in next season, each PLL game will appear on ESPN's streaming service and some select games will air on ESPN, ESPN2 or ABC, as is the case this year. The deal also includes the Women's Lacrosse League, which PLL owns and launched this year.
The PLL's season runs on Saturdays and Sundays from Memorial Day weekend in late May through mid-September, while the inaugural WLL season took place over a six-day period in February. While the PLL's franchises each represent a city or state, the teams compete each weekend in the same venue. For instance, this weekend the PLL games will be held in San Diego, with four games on Saturday and four more on Sunday. They were previously held in Albany, N.Y., Charlotte, N.C., Philadelphia and Baltimore. The league's semifinals take place on Sept. 1 (Labor Day) in Philadelphia, while the championship game is on Sept. 14 in Harrison, N.J. and is airing on ABC.
Rabil said the support of ESPN is 'critical' to the league's success and noted top ESPN executives such as Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, President of Content Burke Magnus and Executive Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions Rosalyn Durant are all proponents of the sport and the league.
'It's what our predecessor was unable to achieve is a buy in from a network partner,' Rabil said. 'In the end, pro sports are media companies, and you need the best distributors and the best promoters in the business to support, especially a newer sports' entrance into a competitive marketplace.'
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