Crazy news hit the lacrosse world when Bloomberg released an article stating that Paul Rabil, aka the Big Kahuna in pro lacrosse, is starting a brand new league next Summer called the Premiere Lacrosse League (PLL) that will rival the MLL. If this doesn't mean anything to you, picture Lebron randomly announcing he's leaving the NBA to take his talents to some random organization that's he's starting up. It's that kind of crazy people, we have some drama in professional lacrosse.
The league will have six teams that will essentially tour around the country and play games similar to how the LXM Pro Tour used to years ago. What makes this league unique, is that players are going to be considered full-time employees, meaning they will receive health benefits, equity in the league, and hopefully more money than the MLL gave them. Apparently, the PLL is already widely popular among players with a considerable amount of top-tier athletes have already signed with the league.
Since Paul decided to load up a cannon and fire at a league that he himself helped shape, there's already a ton of controversy being stirred over the news. Mainly, a lot of people don't see the tour model lasting very long. Considering the LXM tour was a similar idea that didn't survive, it's hard to find arguments favoring why this would indeed work.
I like to think that Paul saw the news about the XFL starting up to rival the NFL, and figured why not take the idea and do it with lacrosse. The players must see some true potential in this new league since they are literally risking their careers over joining it. The fact they would even do this at all makes you wonder if these players simply didn't see the MLL getting any bigger than it is currently, or even players just didn't like how it's being run.
Either way, the MLL is already starting to sweat. As soon as a league-wide salary cap increase was announced, I couldn't help but notice all lot of pro teams were signing a ton of players to extended contracts shortly after. Not to mention their increased posts from signed players explaining why the MLL is so great. The fact they randomly decide to execute this new plan a little over a week prior to the birth of the PLL makes you think maybe they caught wind of this endeavor.
Ignoring politics, I am a huge fan of this move from Paul and his team of investors taking on the opportunity. Take a risk, it's like the very best in the league are betting it all on black. This traveling league I think will find success. The best type of marketing is the kind that takes the show to the people, then rams it down their throat.
I think if enough "big name" players hop in on the opportunity, the PLL can genuinely take off. Think about it, this full-time player business changes everything. Players not only can focus on their craft every day, but they can also work together to create interactive experiences to fans all over. Whether this is camps for kids in the area, meet and greets, or hosting large events, they have access to their talent at all times. That's something I know for a fact the MLL has struggled with, considering most players work two jobs.
It's still too early to really know what this league is all about. As for now, we as fans should just be grateful that our sport might be reaching its potential faster than we ever could have imagined.
Shoutout to Paul for once again helping take this sport into the future, good luck to you sir.
