Hollywood A-listers Glen Powell and Rob Mac are among the investors participating in the Premier Lacrosse League’s new $100 million financing round.
The Series E round, led by Ares and Joe Tsai, is the largest capital raise in the history of pro lacrosse. ESPN, which took a stake in the league in 2025, made a new minority equity investment as part of the latest transaction. The funds will go toward the PLL as well as its corporate sibling the Women’s Lacrosse League.
A breakdown of individual stake details and financials was not provided by the league or its investors.
Along with co-creating and starring in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mac (who filed to legally change his surname last year from McElhenny) has teamed with Ryan Reynolds on FX docuseries Welcome to Wrexham. The series tracks the pair’s investment in Wrexham AFC, a once-downtrodden team in Wales that has since risen to the verge of a promotion to the Premier League, the highest tier of British pro soccer.
In an interview with Deadline, PLL co-founder and president Paul Rabil said Wrexham offers a model of the kind of pop-culture crossover lacrosse is eyeing as it continues to grow. While the ranks of high school and college players are steadily increasing, and ESPN’s buy-in has delivered a boost, the sport hopes to one day have its Mighty Ducks moment. Mac and Reynolds showed savvy in exploiting the upside in American fandom for Wrexham AFC and Rabil said he has discussed the similar potential for lacrosse. Powell, who first met Rabil in 2023, “has ambition beyond the screen,” Rabil said, “and he’s really thoughtful and likes to build things.”
Along with regular lead roles in feature films, Powell entered more entrepreneurial territory with Chad Powers, a Hulu comedy series he starred in, co-created and executive produced. The show’s producers also include former athletes Eli and Peyton Manning as well as ESPN.
Lacrosse has “the ingredients to become one of the most exciting growth stories in sports,” Powell, who played on a club team during high school, said in a statement. The star will collaborate as a creative advisor to the PLL on “storytelling, brand strategy, and creative development” and work with league co-founders Paul and Mike Rabil to expand the PLL and WLL to Texas, a press release said. “I’m thrilled to invest in the PLL and WLL and help bring professional lacrosse to the forefront of culture,” Powell added. “Starting with my home state of Texas.”
Other investors in the Series E round include country music artist 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.
The PLL said the influx of capital will go toward expanding media distribution and original storytelling; growing sponsorship and commercial partnerships; deepening investment in the WLL; and broadening access to youth lacrosse. The investment comes during the runup to a milestone for the modern incarnation of the sport, which was invented centuries ago by Native Americans, with its inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“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 PLL.
Additional investors include Creator Sports Capital, Carolyn Tisch Blodgett’s Next 3, FirstTracks Sports Ventures, Jed Hart, West End Investment Management, James Young, Bolt Ventures (the private investment platform of David Blitzer), and Chris Shumway.
“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ares, Joe Tsai, and this suite of strategic and passionate investors,” Paul Rabil said in the press release. “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. And to bring a former player now transcendent actor like Glen Powell onto our ownership group, paired with Wrexham owner, actor and producer, Rob McElhenney – among other entertainers – will make a big difference in our brand and storytelling efforts.”
The Raine Group served as financial advisor to the PLL on the transaction.
