Utah Archers Midfielder Tre Leclaire (44) carries the ball during the Premier Lacrosse League Cash App Championship between the Maryland Whipsnakes and the Utah Archers at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 15, 2024.
Terence Lewis | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images
ESPN is renewing its media deal with the Premier Lacrosse League and taking an equity stake in the organization.
The five-year deal will begin with the 2026 season and include all PLL regular-season games as well as All-Star, playoff and championship games. The deal comes as pro lacrosse has seen gains across broadcast, partnerships and attendance. It will also be added to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
As part of the deal, Disney-owned ESPN said it will take a minority stake in the league. A person familiar with the terms, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details, said the investment gives ESPN a 3% stake.
“ESPN are not only experts in their understanding sports fans, but they are also great predictors of audience and growth,” PLL co-founder and president Paul Rabil told CNBC. “It’s validating that they came in to invest in what we’re building, and then as a partner, in addition to the expansion of coverage that they’ll be giving.”
Rabil said the media deal with ESPN has been critical to the sport’s growth. He said the network has been investing in lacrosse for roughly three decades.
The partnership also seems to be paying off for ESPN. During the 2024 season, viewership on ABC for the PLL’s championship game was up 9% year over year. The league also had its most-viewed All-Star game in its history, which aired on ESPN.
The PLL is also seeing growth in nearly all metrics. Since 2019, paid tickets are up 34%, attendance is up 13%, ticket revenue is up 149% and sponsor dollars are up more than 100%, Rabil said.
The league, now in its seventh season, has financial backing from the likes of Joe Tsai, the Chernin Group, Arctos, the Kraft Group and CAA.
Last year, PLL announced it was starting a Women’s Lacrosse League, which is currently in its inaugural season.
— CNBC’s Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032.
