Fast Company – May 2019

THE PHILADELPHIA CONVENTION CENTER

stretches several hundred feet, three or

four people thick with giddy lacrosse

fans, many of them kids with their par-

ents in tow. They have traveled from all

over the country to attend LaxCon, the annual event sponsored by U.S. Lacrosse

(the sport’s official governing body), which offers three days of clinics, demos,

vendor exhibits, and a chance to share oxygen with the world’s greatest lacrosse

players, including the most famous of them all, Paul Rabil, who is at the head of

this queue, greeting fans and posing for photos. ¶ This year, the Major League

Lacrosse (MLL) star known for his brawn, speed, and skill is here on a mission

of his own: to promote the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), which he and his

brother, Mike, launched last fall. Rabil and nearly 160 of the world’s top players

have opted out of playing for the 18-year-old MLL to join the PLL, lured by a guar-

anteed minimum salary about two or three times higher than the MLL’s as well as

86 FASTCOMPANY.COM MAY 2019

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