The partnership gives Nike a foothold in North American lacrosse as the sport – making its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028 – looks to convert growing broadcast and commercial momentum into a wider audience. The deal covers on-field uniforms, sideline apparel and fan merchandise from the 2026 season.
Nike has agreed a multi-year apparel partnership with North America’s Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) and Women’s Lacrosse League (WLL), taking on the design and supply of on-field uniforms and sideline apparel for both organisations from the 2026 season. The agreement also includes select fan merchandise collections and designates Nike as the official apparel partner and a foundational partner of each league.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
The deal launches ahead of lacrosse’s inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, a milestone both leagues have been building commercial infrastructure towards since the WLL’s founding year in 2025. With new team jerseys to be developed jointly ahead of the season, the timing frames the partnership as both a platform-building play and a kit supply arrangement.
Lacrosse’s 100-year Olympic comeback in LA 2028
Lacrosse returns to the Olympic programme in Los Angeles after an absence of more than a century. The sport last featured at the 1908 London Games. For the PLL, which launched in 2019 with NBC as its domestic broadcast partner before ESPN took over exclusive rights from 2022, the Olympics represents the biggest single visibility opportunity in the sport’s modern commercial history.
The Women’s Lacrosse League, which debuted in 2025 with four teams competing in the Olympic Sixes format, played on a smaller field than traditional lacrosse, was designed in part with Olympic eligibility in mind. Both leagues’ 2026 seasons run concurrently, with the PLL playing from May 8 through Aug. 16 and the WLL from May 15 through the same date.
Visualizza questo post su Instagram
Nike keeps building its portfolio ahead of major competitions
The lacrosse deal extends a period of active kit portfolio expansion for Nike. The company has entered exclusive talks with UEFA, European football’s governing body, over the match ball contract for its men’s club competitions, and has recently secured new uniform supply agreements with the British & Irish Lions rugby union touring team and the London Spirit cricket franchise.
Broadcast and equity stakes add commercial weight
The leagues bring significant media backing into the Nike deal. ESPN extended and expanded its broadcast agreement last June to cover both the PLL and WLL in the US, adding a minority equity stake in the PLL in what the broadcaster described as its first publicly disclosed investment in a sports league or property. The five-year arrangement, which began with the 2026 season, covers all regular-season games across both leagues, postseason play-offs, All-Star and championship fixtures, and the player draft for each league.
ESPN distributes PLL games across its linear channels, ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, as well as the ESPN+ streaming service. All 47 games in the current season are available on ESPN+, with select matches on the main broadcast networks.
