Professional leagues PLL and MLL are merging

LOS ANGELES (AP) » The Premier Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse are merging and will formally exist as the Premier Lacrosse League.

As part of the merger, the PLL announced Wednesday it will immediately expand to include the Boston Cannons, previously of MLL, as the league’s eighth team, under the new name Cannons Lacrosse Club. The team’s roster will be selected through an expansion draft in 2021. The PLL will retain the rights to all the former MLL teams for future expansion considerations.

Paul Rabil, who cofounded the PLL with his brother, Mike, in 2019, called the merger “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,” Paul Rabil said in a statement. “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.”

The two leagues have created a management team that will oversee 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 communities where MLL has been located.

“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,” MLL commissioner Sandy Brown said.

The PLL’s second season never got started. The tourbased league had to shift into overdrive to come up with a viable plan after the COVID-19 pandemic brought professional sports to a halt in March.

The Rabils mulled about a dozen different scenarios, and after talks with broadcast partner NBC, league commissioners and health officials, the PLL opted for a 16-day tournament in August at Utah’s Zions Bank Stadium with no fans. It aired on NBC platforms at times that had been reserved for the canceled 2020 Summer Olympics. Players and staff were tested for COVID-19 and sequestered under quarantine during down time.

In response, Major League Lacrosse opted to conduct a tournament prior to the PLL’s and also without fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, to crown its 20th champion. Games were broadcast on ESPN networks.

The Rabils created a different version of lacrosse in an effort to make the game more exciting and appealing, especially to younger fans. Among the changes were a field shortened by 10 yards to create more chances for transition and scoring, and shortened playing time and shotclock duration.