Premier Lacrosse League Begins 3rd Season


The sport of lacrosse is a hard sell to fans but the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) hopes their third season will help the professional league to make bigger strides.  

The league features eight teams which are not assigned to a specific city or market.  Instead the eight teams participate in 12 tours throughout the United States.  The season runs from June to September.  The PLL have an exclusive broadcast agreement with the NBC Sports Group to televise their games.

The eight teams are:  Archers, Atlas, Cannons, Chaos, Chrome, Redwoods, Waterdogs and Whipsnakes.  The Whipsnakes have won back-to-back titles.

The Cannons are formerly the Boston Cannons from Major League Lacrosse and joined the league when the two leagues merged.  

The league opened the season last weekend at Gillette Stadium near Boston.   This weekend the tour moves to Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia.  The rest of the tour includes Baltimore, MD (June 25-27), Long Island, NY (July 2-4), Minneapolis, MN (July 9-11), San Jose, CA (July 18), Colorado Springs, CO (July 30-August 1), Albany, NY (August 13-15), Quarterfinal Playoffs at Salt Lake City, UT (August 20-21), Semifinals at Philadelphia, PA (September 5), Championship Game at Washington, DC (September 19)

Andrew Kew of the Cannons currently leads the league with six goals. 

The 2021 PLL season will feature 21 games televised on NBC and NBCSN which is the most professional lacrosse games on television in a season.  All televised coverage will also stream on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app.  This season will also be the first season that Peacock will be streaming the PLL.

After merger with the MLL, this will be a crucial season for professional lacrosse in the U.S.   With a solid television contract and the best lacrosse talent, the league hopes to gain some momentum for the future.  It is still a challenge to feature a league with touring teams and difficult for fans to identify with their "home" team.  At some point the PLL will need to establish permanent locations for their teams in major markets.

For more information on the league:  Premier Lacrosse League

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