MLL-PLL Merger

[hooligan88]

Joint statement from the Premier Lacrosse League
THE PREMIER LACROSSE LEAGUE AND MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE ANNOUNCE MERGER

PLL
The Premier Lacrosse League (“PLL”) and Major League Lacrosse (“MLL”) have merged with subsequent season operations and activities to formally exist under the Premier Lacrosse League.

As part of the merger, the PLL will immediately expand to include the Boston Cannons as the PLL’s eighth team, under the rebranded name Cannons Lacrosse Club. The Cannons Lacrosse Club roster will be entirely selected through an Expansion Draft in 2021. Additionally, the PLL will retain the rights to all of the former MLL teams for future expansion considerations.

The PLL and MLL have created an internal team that will oversee the success of the transition, including: front office, team and player orientation; the 2021 season schedule, which will include former MLL team markets; and a long-term plan to develop youth lacrosse players in historical MLL communities.

In the coming months, details will be announced regarding the 2021 Expansion Draft, as well as more information on how transitioning MLL players may enter the PLL Player Pool.

MLL Commissioner, Sandy Brown, explained, “this merger only benefits the future of the game, for it combines the history of professional lacrosse with an innovative approach that has already accelerated the game’s growth. Further, the major market commercial opportunities are at their infancy. The runway for a combined effort is robust.”

PLL
PLL co-founder and CEO, Mike Rabil, responded saying, “the unification of PLL and MLL puts the game first by providing our athletes and fans a single destination for the best lacrosse in the world, across every medium, coming this Summer 2021 on NBC Sports. I can’t think of anything better and more exciting for the sport.”

PLL co-founder and CMO, Paul Rabil, stated, “the PLL and MLL partnership is a massive step forward for professional lacrosse. Merging the two organizations and removing some of the challenges that athletes, sponsors and fans faced will undoubtedly advance the game forward. This one’s particularly nostalgic for me and a number of PLL players given that we began our careers and played in championship games with MLL prior to the PLL’s launch. Today and forever we share in that history and continue to build the future of pro lacrosse together.”
Professional Lacrosse
Operations
All further activities will formally exist under the Premier Lacrosse League

Expansion
PLL will expand to include the Boston Cannons as the PLL’s eighth team, under the rebranded name Cannons Lacrosse Club. The Cannons LC roster will be entirely selected through an Expansion Draft in 2021

2021 Entry Draft
Details forthcoming regarding the 2021 Expansion Draft, as well as more information on how transitioning MLL players may enter the PLL Player Pool

Transition
A joint transition team will be releasing details in the coming months

[spartanslynx]

A natural progression.

8 teams is correct from the financial point and that is what only really matters.

The Outlaws, Bayhawks and Lizards branding will probably come back in the future.

Most excited to have all the best players on the field!The gameplay can absolutely step up a few more steps.

[Wheels]

A natural progression.

8 teams is correct from the financial point and that is what only really matters.

The Outlaws, Bayhawks and Lizards branding will probably come back in the future.

Most excited to have all the best players on the field!The gameplay can absolutely step up a few more steps.

There are 5 unused MLL teams that the PLL will still have. Set up a "Championship League" as a second tier. Have relegation and promotion mechanisms in place. I believe there are no US pro sports franchises that have relegation. You know that Rabils aren't afraid of creating new US pro sports models...

[LaxPundit07]

I know Rabil rubs some of the old laxheads the wrong way (myself included), but clearly he is having success. This purchase of the MLL is a huge feather in his cap. Remember, it wasn't long ago that Rabil and his brother approached the MLL about buying the league and they told him to pound sand. Now after kicking their ass for the past two years, they come back tail between legs...

Good for Paul. Good for the PLL. Good for the game of lacrosse! Two leagues was not sustainable and at times cringeworthy. The PLL model is clearly the most progressive, well thought out model.

Cheers to the PLL!

[Matnum PI]

The PLL and Major League Lacrosse, founded about two decades ago, are merging. The move consolidates outdoor lacrosse into a single entity that will operate under the banner of the Premier Lacrosse League, whose...

https://fanlax.com/2020/12/16/pll-and-mll-to-merge/

[Matnum PI]

I'm just happy to see all the post-college talent in one league.

[old salt]

I hope the PLL retains the Bayhawk's partnership with the Naval Academy for the use of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
It's a great spectator & tv venue.

It would seem like a perfect venue for a couple 8 team/4 game weekend stops & the Championship Tourney.

Annapolis has plenty of hotels & a welcoming hospitality sector.

[Puck Swami]

Things I love about this:

Consolidation of talent, finance, TV and sports innovation into a single league. This is a huge benefit to the sport, making one strong league, which is better for branding/growth in a fragmented media universe. Hopefully it will grow the point that players will not longer need other jobs to make a living, and will be able practice during the week to make pro lax a viable sport.

Things I don't love:
With the barnstorming model, fans in a given market will only see the live-in-person product sporadically, rather than regularly. This also hurts regional identification and bringing in casual fans who identify more with their city rather than the sport itself.

What I would love:

What I would like to see is a hybrid model, where they all barnstorm to say, 8 new cities per year to grow the game and create buzz, while they also would have a home/away schedule, with a team in each of 8 hotbed cities to play enough home and away games to build regional affiliation and city identity.

[leeatu]

Things I love about this:

Consolidation of talent, finance, TV and sports innovation into a single league. This is a huge benefit to the sport, making one strong league, which is better for branding/growth in a fragmented media universe. Hopefully it will grow the point that players will not longer need other jobs to make a living, and will be able practice during the week to make pro lax a viable sport.

Things I don't love:
With the barnstorming model, fans in a given market will only see the live-in-person product sporadically, rather than regularly. This also hurts regional identification and bringing in casual fans who identify more with their city rather than the sport itself.

What I would love:

What I would like to see is a hybrid model, where they all barnstorm to say, 8 new cities per year to grow the game and create buzz, while they also would have a home/away schedule, with a team in each of 8 hotbed cities to play enough home and away games to build regional affiliation and city identity.

This. I live less than an hour from Mile High Stadium and if I had the means I would be able to go see the Outlaws 8+ times a year. Now I might be lucky to see professional field lax in person once a year. A professional team represents the the area they are based in and locals feel a connection to the team. How are we supposed to feel about a group of teams that come in to put on a "show" for a weekend then my location is not on their tour schedule the next year. The Outlaws drew about 30,000 for their annual 4th of July games, I guess that's over now.

Most of the PLL 2019 season was played in MLL locations, that doesn't really help attract more fans to the game. I would go with a traditional league with each team playing 8 home / 8 away games plus 2 neutral site games. In 2019, that would give 12 additional locations for MLL games which is more non-MLL locations than where the PLL went that season.

I do enjoy lax but I am not and will not be a fan of a barnstorming PLL.

[Njlaxx11]

A natural progression.

8 teams is correct from the financial point and that is what only really matters.

The Outlaws, Bayhawks and Lizards branding will probably come back in the future.

Most excited to have all the best players on the field!The gameplay can absolutely step up a few more steps.

There are 5 unused MLL teams that the PLL will still have. Set up a "Championship League" as a second tier. Have relegation and promotion mechanisms in place. I believe there are no US pro sports franchises that have relegation. You know that Rabils aren't afraid of creating new US pro sports models...

i absolutely LOVE this idea.

[Matnum PI]

RT @benpickman: Lacrosse News: The @PremierLacrosse is planning on returning to a tour-based model this summer, with the season starting June 4th.

“We’re moving in a direction where we’ve got a lot of momentum at our back," @PaulRabil tells @SInow:
https://t.co/7MQEIXBjC1

[spartanslynx]

Lyle Thompson seems ingrained in the league with narrating the schedule announcement. Awesome!!


43 games in 11 weekend including All Star Game and Playoffs.

7 weeks of regular season means facing each team once for a total of 28 games.

That leaves 15 games for ASG and Playoffs which sounds like alot. I don't know how that works out.


But this exciting! I think fans will be there. Mostly for the seasonality of the virus, unsure how quick vaccination will go.

[flyerfan17]

NBC shutting down NBCSN by the end of 2021, that can't help the league

[youthathletics]

NBC shutting down NBCSN by the end of 2021, that can't help the league

You beat me to it......article hear. https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/media/nb ... yiYXFs2SpY

[hooligan88]

Hopefully they were smart enough to keep the MLL contract with ESPN.

[BigTom4]

Paul's insecurity is really showing with these new draft rules for the Cannons. Can't risk having an ex-MLL team compete for a championship in year one after saying for two years that the PLL has all of the talented players, so you manipulate the entry / collegiate drafts to make sure they are at a major talent disadvantage.

They say they are using precedent set by the Waterdogs expansion rules, but in last year's version teams could only protect 11 players and the Waterdogs got the #3 pick in the collegiate draft. Something smells fishy when now 13 players can be protected and the Cannons are drafting AFTER the two time defending champ Whipsnakes in the collegiate draft.

Why not let the Cannons take a starting 10 from the MLL player pool before others get to make their selection, instead of only getting the 1st, 9th, and 17th best MLL players? It's because Paul would throw a fit if these MLL guys won, or even competed for, a championship after two years of dismissing them as a JV league. I wish he grew a pair, it would make the league a lot more competitive and give ex-MLL fans a fun team to root for.

[spartanslynx]

I expected the "MLL-draft" to go as presented but allowing teams to protect 14 players is bonkers.

The teams can proctect EVERY player they really need.

The Cannons will be a much weaker team then anybody else, even with Lyle. I still expect them to win games but they will have no shot at the 'ship.

It is clearly not like the Waterdogs got overpowered.

Very weird