Premier Lacrosse League Raises $100M for Pre-LA28 Expansion

The Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) has closed a $100 million Series E financing round led by Ares and Alibaba Group Chairperson Joe Tsai, which it says represents the largest capital raise in the history of professional lacrosse.

The round also includes a subsequent minority equity investment from ESPN, along with investments from actor and writer Glen Powell, co-chairman of Wrexham A.F.C, actor and producer Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney), country music singer and songwriter Warren Zeiders, and actor Tony Cavalero.

As part of the financing, Co-Head of Ares Sports, Media and Entertainment Jim Miller will join the PLL’s board of directors. Meanwhile, Powell will join the PLL as a creative advisor and work alongside Founders Paul and Mike Rabil. 

The league will use the funding across four key priorities: expanding media distribution and original storytelling; growing sponsorship and commercial partnerships; investing further in the expansion of the Women’s Lacrosse League; and making lacrosse more accessible and affordable to young people across North America.

“Lacrosse is entering one of the most important periods in its history. With the Olympics on the horizon, we have an opportunity to introduce the sport to a new generation of fans and athletes around the world,” said Mike Rabil, co-founder and CEO of the Premier Lacrosse League. “Our focus is on building the infrastructure to support that growth through elite competition, broader distribution, youth participation, and a stronger professional ecosystem.”

Additional investors include Creator Sports Capital, Next 3, FirstTracks Sports Ventures, Jed Hart, West End Investment Management, James Young, Bolt Ventures and Chris Shumway.

Strategic Investment

The investment is designed to accelerate the league’s growth ahead of lacrosse’s return to the Olympic stage at LA28.

“We’re thrilled to invest in the PLL at a defining moment for the league and the sport,” said Miller. “Lacrosse has tremendous momentum, world-class athletes and a deeply engaged fanbase, creating exciting opportunities across media rights, live events and broader fan engagement. We look forward to supporting Mike, Paul and the entire team with scaled institutional capital to help advance the league’s next chapter of growth and innovation.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ares, Joe Tsai, and this suite of strategic and passionate investors,” said Paul Rabil, co-founder, president and chief creative officer of the Premier Lacrosse League. “It’s a powerful signal when the most respected investors in sports believe not only in where lacrosse is today, but in where it’s going.”

“Lacrosse has the ingredients to become one of the most exciting growth stories in sports,” said Powell. “I’m thrilled to invest in the PLL and WLL and help bring professional lacrosse to the forefront of culture. Starting with my home state of Texas.”

PLL Growth

The PLL is currently composed of eight men’s teams across North America, each with rosters of 25 players. Boston Cannons, Maryland Whipsnakes, New York Atlas and Philadelphia Waterdogs play in the Eastern Conference, while the California Redwoods, Carolina Chaos, Denver Outlaws and Utah Archers play in the Western Conference.

Six of the teams have competed in the league since the inaugural season in 2019, whereas the Waterdogs were added as an expansion team in the 2020 season and the Cannons transferred from Major League Lacrosse (MLL) for the 2021 season, when MLL merged with the PLL.

The PLL also owns four teams in the Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), which began in 2025.

In a recent episode of Portfolio Players, Paul Rabil said that he planned to move the league’s model away from its current model with single entities and a touring format to one with individual team owners by selling its franchises. Even though teams are attached to cities across North America, the league rotates through different stops across a 12-weekend regular season, while there is also a mid-season All-Star event.

The Rabil brothers have said that they want to bring the first PLL and WLL teams to Texas, whether as part of the touring format or as new teams, and the league is prioritizing increasing youth participation to develop future players and build future fandom.