Two brothers teamed up with Wall Street to create the next great major US professional sports league.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) First, some history...

Despite lacrosse being North America's oldest team sport—played by Native Americans throughout the 1400s—the US never developed a legitimate professional league.

That changed in 1999 when Jake Steinfeld, Dave Morrow & Tim Robertson founded the MLL.
2) Founded in 1999, Major League Lacrosse became the 1st outdoor professional lacrosse league.

The only problem?

Despite a decade straight of rising attendance—occasionally drawing 10,000+ fans—players weren't making any money.

The average MLL player made ~$10,000 annually.
3) As the MLL approached its 20th season, players grew frustrated with the leagues inability to capitalize financially.

“I was the No. 1 draft pick, but my rookie wage was $6,000,” Paul Rabil says.

With lacrosse as the fastest growing sport in the US, why weren't wages rising?
4) Paul Rabil, who is one of the greatest lacrosse players of all-time, decided to confront the problem head on.

Rabil approached the MLL, looking to assist with changes he deemed necessary to increase the long-term viability of the league.

Their answer?

Get lost.
5) Armed with the belief that the MLL was not maximizing their value, Paul Rabil doubled down.

Rabil returned to the league office, this time looking to buy the business with serious investors behind him.

Still, he was denied.

Rabil's response?

The Premier Lacrosse League.
6) In 2018, @PaulRabil & @MichaelRabil cofounded the Premier Lacrosse League — an alternative to the MLL.

Their reasoning was simple.

If they could pay full-time wages, the on-field product would improve — allowing them to maximize value through an improved content strategy.
7) With the backing of investors like billionaire Nets owner Joseph Tsai & The Chernin Group, the Rabil's began to build out a talent pool.

Their offer?

— ~$35k+ salaries, compared to ~$10k in the MLL
— Health benefits
— Equity in the league

Now, it was truly a players league.
8) After building a competitive talent pool, Paul & Mike Rabil secured the most important piece — a media deal.

The PLL signed an exclusive broadcasting deal with NBC, enabling their games to be shown in ~100M+ homes.

Even more interesting?

Their plan to increase viewership…
9) In an effort to increase viewership, the PLL relied on social & changed the way lacrosse was broadcast.

— Removed wide-angled cameras
— Shortened the field of play
— Reduced the shot clock
— Yellow balls instead of white
— Intra-game interviews

The best part?

It's working.
10) Due to COVID-19, the PLL pivoted from their normal schedule to a single 16-day tournament in 2020.

The results were fantastic:

— TV ratings up 27%
— Sponsorship revenue up 59%
— League-wide revenue increased despite no fans

The only thing left?

Consolidation of talent.
11) With the Premier Lacrosse League headed north & Major League Lacrosse headed south, a consolidation of talent became inevitable.

Yesterday, the PLL & MLL announced a merger — creating one unified outdoor professional lacrosse league under the PLL brand.

Next up, expansion.
12) As the PLL & MLL merge—moving front office personnel & increasing player talent—it’ll be interesting to see how the newly combined entity utilizes the additional talent to attract viewership.

With @PaulRabil & @MichaelRabil running the show, it’ll certainly be fun to watch.
13) Building a professional sports league is certainly not easy, but one thing is clear:

Teaming up with your brother to challenge convention, follow a lifelong passion, and change the sports industry forever...

Now that's f**king awesome.
14) If you enjoyed this thread, you should:

1. Follow me, I tweet cool sports business stories everyday.

2. Subscribe to my free daily newsletter where I give detailed analysis on topics involving the money and business behind sports.

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Also, don't forget @AthleticBrewing is the reason I'm able to create sports business content full-time.

If you want to support me, buy some beer - it's really great stuff.

Use code "JOE25" for 25% off at athleticbrewing.com

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More from @JoePompliano

17 Dec
Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a $228 million dollar extension with the Milwaukee Bucks yesterday — the richest contract in NBA history.

The craziest part?

It was a bargain.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) First, some history...

Giannis Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, Greece, shortly after his parents immigrated from Nigeria in search of a better life.

But as immigrants situated in a small town with a floundering economy, Giannis and his brothers had a rough childhood.
2) As a child, with his parents unable to find consistent work due to their immigration status, Giannis had to help provide for the family.

How?

Giannis & his brothers spent hours each day selling watches & CDs in the streets of Athens.

"I was good at it. I didn't give up.”
Read 17 tweets
16 Dec
Michael Jordan, along with Denny Hamlin, founded a NASCAR team called "23XI Racing" earlier this year.

The part you didn't know?

This isn't MJ's first professional motorsports team.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) First, let's set the stage...

Born and raised in North Carolina, Michael Jordan grew an affinity for motorsports — riding dirt bikes & attending NASCAR races as a kid, eventually graduating to motorcycles.

But when he got drafted to the Chicago Bulls, everything changed.
2) When Michael Jordan was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1984, his $6.3M contract included a specific clause.

MJ was prohibited from riding motorcycles.

Despite a dominant underground motorcycle culture in Chicago throughout the 1990's, Jordan obeyed.

Until he retired…
Read 13 tweets
15 Dec
Dan Gilbert, who runs multiple billion dollar businesses including Quicken Loans & the Cleveland Cavaliers, is one of the best entrepreneurs in the world.

But like any great entrepreneur, when he saw a market ripe for disruption, he had to get involved.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) Let's start in 2015...

Dan Gilbert started to notice something interesting:

“The amount of interest & activity among my boys and their friends about sneakers was just crazy."

Thinking it might just be his kids, he asked other parents.

The answer?

"95% said the same thing”
2) As Dan Gilbert dug deeper into the secondary sneaker market, he saw glaring issues.

"Transactions were murky, information was limited & it was based on trusting strangers with your money"

His idea?

A stock market for shoes, where efficient pricing is set by supply & demand.
Read 15 tweets
12 Dec
With retail stores all over the world closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer brands have suffered tremendously.

The interesting part?

Nike is thriving.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) What if I told you the following was true about Nike:

— Revenue is down 5%
— Inventory is up 15%
— 2,000+ employees have been let go

You would probably think—similar to Under Armour & Adidas—that Nike has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

But context matters…
2) Despite seeing a decline in sales, a rise in inventory, and thousands of layoffs, Nike's stock has performed well this year.

2020 Performance:
Nike: +35%
Adidas: +5%
Under Armour: -20%
———
S&P 500: +13%

How?

Because they've completely changed their business model.
Read 13 tweets
10 Dec
In 2016, Under Armour & UCLA agreed to the largest sponsorship deal in the history of college sports — a 15-year, $280 million deal.

The interesting part?

Nike ended up benefitting the most.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) First, some history...

From 2010-2016, Under Armour made an aggressive push into college athletics.

Why?

In an attempt to "move into Nike's turf," they selectively picked schools to sponsor, like Notre Dame & Wisconsin, based on geographic location.
2) Here's a few of the contracts Under Armour signed...

Wisconsin: 10-year, $96 million
Notre Dame: 10-year, $90 million
Cal: 10-year, $86 million
Auburn: 9-year, $78.1 million

The largest one?

An unprecedented $280 million commitment to UCLA.
Read 15 tweets
9 Dec
Topgolf, which was recently acquired by Callaway, has over 50 locations contributing $1.1 billion in annual revenue.

The part you didn't know?

They're quietly building another $200M+ business.

Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) First, let's set the stage...

Despite the US population increasing from 298M to 331M from 2006 to 2020—an 11% increase—the number of golf participants in the United States hasn’t followed suit.

There has been a ~20% decline in golf participation during the same time period.
2) As participation has declined, legacy golf companies like Callaway have searched for ways to diversify their business beyond traditional golf.

The solution?

Acquisitions.

Since 2015, Callaway has spent ~$750M on premium brands like Jack Wolfskin, TravisMathew & Ogio.
Read 16 tweets

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