The “sport of the future”’s future just got a whole lot brighter. As of October 26th, 2021, the NLL signed a multi-year exclusive media rights agreement with ESPN and ESPN+. This partnership will give the NLL the ability to expand its global and domestic audience in an effort to expand the game – as this is the largest media rights agreement signed by the NLL since it came into existence.
The contract awards ESPN and ESPN+ exclusive rights to live NLL games in the domestic United States, as well as the rest of the world except for Canada. ESPN will air 10 live games a year, and ESPN+ will carry up to 139 games exclusively as well. With this new agreement, fans can look forward to accessing the largest number of live televised games in the history of the NLL! This is big news for the sport as a whole.
ESPN has not yet announced the TV schedule that they have planned for the live games, and we are still waiting to see exactly which games are going to be stream-able on ESPN+. We can expect to see the best matchups and high-stakes games prioritized and taking the spot light. You will be able to catch all the action you are hoping to see.
Now the question arises; what is coming for the PLL? Will they be the next ones to sign a deal with ESPN? Right now they are currently with Peacock, but there may be a possibility for the PLL to partner with ESPN as well as the NLL paves the path for them. Stay tuned, we will be sure to loop you in on any news.
To view our source information and look for any more info you may be interested in, visit the NLL’s site directly with the link below:
https://www.nll.com/news/national-lacrosse-league-signs-historic-multiyear-agreement-with-espn/
