Once again, we have some massive news coming out for the lacrosse world. The Premier Lacrosse League is introducing a new free-agency system. Implementing free agency gives players more autonomy to determine how their careers will progress, which is a huge step forward in an effort to grow the sport as a whole. These new regulations go into play after the 2022 season, and Jan 24th, 2023 – April 1st, 2023 marks the inital player signing window. Here are the stipulations of these new systems:
In the PLL, head coaches are also general managers. There will be a $735,000 purse given to each team annually, that the head coach will be responsible for managing and distributing amongst the team’s 25 man roster. The only catch is that the league minimum is $25,000 per year. So this leaves about $110,000 for the coach to distribute on top of minimum salaries as they see fit.
The players are going to be able to negotiate a contract from 1 to 4 years. Once the agreed upon term is over, they will enter free agency, in turn creating a system that adds a whole new component to the game, and will generate news and hype in the offseason like we haven’t seen in the past.
This new system will also regulate the salaries of drafted players. Top draft picks in the draft are going to see a bit of an increase in their pay, while the rest would get the minimum $25k. The #1 overall pick will get $30k, 2 gets $28.5k, 3 is at $27k, and 4 is $26K. This increase will be a small but effective incentive for top skilled players to be drafted as high as possible. On top of these increases, player’s travel stipends will also increase 100%. We are witnessing big things here.
Free agency is something professional lacrosse has been lacking for a long time, and it tended to hold back the sport. Now, this new system being implemented helps the advancement of the sport and is pushing the league to the next level. Are we going to see players team up and create a super team? Are coaches going to pick one star over the other? Are players going to go after the biggest deal they can get? The league just got a lot more interesting to say the least.
