The Premier Lacrosse League raised a new round of capital as it looks to make the leap to the mainstream U.S. sports audience.
The Series D round was led by existing investor The Chernin Group and included some heavy hitters in the sports landscape:
- WWE
- Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures
- Brooklyn Nets owner Joseph Tsai
- Arctos Sports Partners
- Brett Jefferson, investor and part-owner of the National Lacrosse League’s Albany FireWolves
The size of the round was not disclosed, but league owners Paul and Mike Rabil told Bloomberg that it doubled the valuation of the league from its June 2021 funding. Arctos led that round with participation from Tsai and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
ESPN Buys In
The league got a boost in March when it inked a four-year broadcast rights deal with ESPN, reportedly valued at eight figures. The deal puts all 47 PLL games on ESPN, ESPN+, or ABC.
Viewership rose 29% from 2019 to 2021 on NBCSN. The 2020 season was delayed and shortened due to the pandemic. Ticket revenue increased by 56% over that span.
A June game on ABC broke league records with 452,000 average viewers and 623,000 peak viewers.
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