‘Fate of A Sport’ launched Friday on Hulu. The documentary depicts the PLL’s founding story. From two brothers looking to improve the professional lacrosse landscape to signing a deal with ESPN, the film shows the PLL’s resilience and innovation. 

Cameras followed Co-Founder Paul Rabil since he graduated from Johns Hopkins in 2008 and became the biggest star in the sport. They kept rolling for the start of the PLL dating back to 2017, creating many of the raw scenes shared in ‘Fate of a Sport.’

They’ve been rolling since, too. For the new PLL fans (welcome!), let's break down what's happened since the PLL signed its broadcast deal with ESPN. 

The Waterdogs win in third season

Small full-circle moments are built into the PLL’s exponential growth story. In the 2022 season, that moment came for Waterdogs LC. The Waterdogs were founded just months before the onset of COVID-19 and played their first season in the Championship Series bubble in Utah. 

Head coach Andy Copelan built the team with two-way players. After watching the league for the first year without coaching a team, Copelan believed PLL games were won in the middle of the field. The team didn’t have a clear top-scorer or the kind of player that always found themselves on Sportscenter’s Top 10 for a flashy play.

But they could win ground balls. They could out work opponents, and at times simply play more as a team more often than their opponents.

Copelan scooped the group from a list of unprotected players left off existing teams rosters. In their third season, those castaways won the PLL Championship.

The win marked the league’s third champion in four seasons. It marked the first championship without Whipsnakes LC, which quickly rose to the top of the PLL power rankings over the first few seasons. It marked further parity in a league where it increasingly feels like anyone can win and a new emerging narrative is always available to chase.

“We’ve kind of had that same group of guys that we’ve been with since the bubble. The journey has been a battle. But each year, we got better and here we are. We’re champions,” Waterdogs attack Kieran McArdle said on the podium after a champagne shower.

Series D Funding 

‘Fate of a Sport’ doesn’t just show how a sports league was founded. It also displays how a startup business is operated. Throughout the documentary, Paul and Mike Rabil are pitching investors and players on their new concept. They search for their initial broadcast partner in the streets of Manhattan and debate if selling the league after a season is worth the pay day.

Those things all work out for the brothers, and the PLL even accepted further capital infusion during the 2022 season. The PLL announced its Series D funding round on July 25th. Investors in the round included WWE and NBA star Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures. 

“We're continuing to trailblaze the future of professional sports, now with additional funding led by 3 of the most innovative companies in the world,” said PLL Co-Founder and President Paul Rabil at the time of the investment. “Today marks a moment in our journey where we want to enhance our distribution and storytelling around the league, teams and players, create an even better experience for our fans, and introduce some of the biggest brands in the world to America's first game.”

WWE, which operates a character-driven entertainment business, hopes to help build the entertainment profile of the PLL while Thirty Five Ventures will help PLL with its extensive list of connections at the intersection of sports and business. 

The Championship Series 

The PLL’s expansion continues this February. From Feb. 22-Feb. 26 on ESPN platforms the league will play its first winter Championship Series. There will be two games per day leading into Sunday's championship game. 

The tournament includes last year’s top four finishers in the regular season: Whipsnakes, Chrome, Archers and Atlas. The games will be played in a six-on-six format, similar to the international format being pitched for the 2028 Olympics. 

“The fastest game on two feet is even faster in Sixes format,” PLL co-founder and president Paul Rabil said. “On a shorter field, the pace of play, athleticism and skill will be on display like never before. This version of the game is the same discipline you’ll see should lacrosse get into the Olympics in LA 2028. It’s internationally adopted, high scoring and action-packed.”

All six players on the field play both ways with short sticks in an expedited format. There will not be faceoffs in between goals and the shot clock will last just 30 seconds, significantly shorter than the typical PLL clock of 52 seconds and the NCAA men’s shot clock (80 seconds).

It’ll be the next step in innovation for a league that’s consistently trying to make lacrosse more engaging and exciting to the general public.