Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League The rebirth of major professional box lacrosse in the United States came on March 13, 1986, with the formation of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League (EPBLL), which was incorporated by
Russ Cline and
Chris Fritz. The "Eagle League" moniker was inspired by a meeting with
Iroquois leaders, whose culture views the animal as a
tutelary spirit. Previously, in 1985, box lacrosse sponsored an event played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. The USA/Canada Superseries was an eight-game series seen as a precursor to the new league. Darrell Russell was named commissioner of the league, which had four teams based in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and East Rutherford, New Jersey. The EPBLL opened play for the
1987 season with two games on 10 January 1987: the
Philadelphia Wings at the
New Jersey Saints (Philadelphia defeated New Jersey 11–8) and the
Baltimore Thunder at the
Washington Wave. The four teams contested a six-game regular season before a postseason that saw all four teams qualify for a single knockout tournament, which ended with the Baltimore Thunder being crowned as the EPBLL's first champion. the 2000 Final was the last sporting event to be held in the historic Maple Leaf Gardens. After the season, the league expanded again, with former Commissioner John Livsey leading the establishment of the
Columbus Landsharks in Columbus, Ohio. In addition, the Smash relocated north of the border and became the
Ottawa Rebel, after three straight last place finishes, while the CrosseFire moved to Washington, D.C., and became the
Washington Power. Jim Jennings was named the new Commissioner and announced that league headquarters would be relocated from Buffalo to Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
2001 In front of the league's largest crowd in history, the Philadelphia Wings won their sixth league championship with a 9–8 win over the Toronto Rock at the Air Canada Centre in front of 19,409 fans. Wings goaltender Dallas Eliuk was named Most Valuable Player. The league announced a major expansion after the season, awarding new franchises to Montreal, New Jersey, Calgary, and Vancouver for the 2002. This would take the league from nine to thirteen teams, more than three times the number of teams that played the inaugural season in 1987. The expansion teams were the
Montreal Express, the
New Jersey Storm, the
Calgary Roughnecks, and the
Vancouver Ravens.
2002 With thirteen teams, the league established a divisional format with Eastern, Central, and Northern divisions. The Vancouver Ravens played their inaugural home game at General Motors Place in Vancouver. The Ravens defeated the Toronto Rock 13–12 in front of a crowd of 13,772, the largest to attend the first home game of an expansion franchise. The Albany Attack hosted the Rock in the 2002 Final, with the Rock defeating the Attack by a score of 13–12 to capture their third title in four seasons. 9,289 fans watched the game at the Pepsi Arena in Albany. Toronto forward Colin Doyle was voted Championship Game MVP, scoring three goals and one assist. After the season, the league announced another relocation of the Washington Power franchise, now under new ownership in Denver. The team was bought by Kroenke Sports Enterprises, who also owned the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and the Pepsi Center, where the new
Colorado Mammoth would host games. The new team marked the league's first U.S. team west of the Mississippi River. In addition, the Montreal Express suspended operations after just one season of play.
2003 The Colorado Mammoth played their inaugural home game at Pepsi Center in Denver. The Mammoth won 13–12 in double overtime against the Toronto Rock in front of 16,121 fans. The crowd broke the record for an inaugural home game attendance. The Mammoth also defeated the New York Saints by a score of 19–13 in front of a sellout of 18,207 fans, the first of two sellouts in Denver that season. The Mammoth averaged over 16,000 fans per game, second only to Toronto. The Rochester Knighthawks hosted the Toronto Rock in the 2003 Champion's Cup Final. The Rock defeated the Knighthawks by a score of 8–6 to capture their fourth title in five seasons. 11,051 fans attended the game at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. Toronto goalie Bob Watson earned Championship Game MVP honors with his 40 saves. The off-season was a tumultuous one for the NLL. The Ottawa Rebel joined the Montreal Express in suspending operations, while the New York Saints folded altogether after sixteen seasons. There were also three relocations: the Columbus Landsharks moved to Glendale and became the
Arizona Sting; the New Jersey Storm moved to southern California and became the
Anaheim Storm; and the Albany Attack moved to northern California and became the
San Jose Stealth. This led to a new divisional alignment, with the league opting for a two-division, East/West format.
2004 For 2004, the new Western Division consisted of Anaheim, Arizona, Calgary, Colorado, San Jose, and Vancouver, while the Eastern Division consisted of Buffalo, Philadelphia, Rochester, and Toronto. The top three teams in each division would earn playoff berths with the division champions receiving byes. The second and third-place finishers would face each other in the opening round with the winners facing their respective division champions in the semi-final round. The semi-final winners (East vs. West) would meet in the 2004 Champions' Cup Final with the higher seed hosting. Fox Sports Net became the league's new national broadcast partner in the United States. Fox Sports Net carried nine regular-season game broadcasts spread across the schedule to over 50 million homes, along with the 2004 All-Star Game on 22 February 2004. The Arizona Sting played their inaugural home game at the new Glendale Arena in Arizona, the first event ever held inside the arena. The Sting defeated the Vancouver Ravens by a score of 16–12 in front of 12,789 fans. The Colorado Mammoth hosted a sellout crowd of 18,305 at Pepsi Center in a 14–13 loss to the Calgary Roughnecks, the first of five Mammoth sellout crowds on the season. The 2004 All-Star Game was played in front of 16,742 fans at Pepsi Center in Denver, the largest All-Star Game crowd in league history. The East Division All-Stars defeated the West Division All-Stars by a score of 19–15. The Calgary Roughnecks won their first Champion's Cup by defeating the Buffalo Bandits 14–11 at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary in front of 19,289 fans. The sellout crowd was the second highest single game attendance total in NLL history. The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and players' association expired at the end of the season, necessitating negotiations for a new agreement. The Vancouver Ravens suspended operations after three seasons, while the owners of the Minnesota Wild purchased the dormant Montreal Express franchise and relocated it to Saint Paul, calling the team the
Minnesota Swarm.
2005 The protracted negotiations over a new CBA threatened to encroach upon or even cancel the 2005 season; however, the league announced a new 3-year CBA with the Player's Association (PLPA) in October, allowing the season to porceed. A new preseason attendance record was set as 14,084 fans came to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for the first home exhibition game of the expansion Minnesota Swarm. The game marked the first professional lacrosse game ever played in the state of Minnesota. The National Lacrosse League All-Star Game aired live on NBC at 2 PM Eastern. The game became the first live broadcast of lacrosse on national U.S. network television. The game was also televised in Canada on The Score, and internationally via CNBC International, CNBC Asia, and on Armed Forces Network. The East Division defeated the West Division 11–10 in overtime in front of 11,511 fans at Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. The Gait brothers were reunited when Paul ended his retirement, signing with the Colorado Mammoth and re-joining brother and Mammoth captain Gary. The 2005 NLL Championship Game was played in front of a record 19,432 fans at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto and in front of a national network television audience in the US on NBC and in Canada on the Score. The Toronto Rock defeated the Arizona Sting 19–13, capturing their fifth title in seven seasons, capping a dominant run for the team and pulling within one title of the Philadelphia Wings' six. Colin Doyle was named MVP of the game after leading the Rock with five goals and three assists. After the season, the Anaheim Storm folded after two years in California. However, the dormant Ottawa Rebel franchise was purchased and relocated to Edmonton by Bruce Urban, where the team was called the
Edmonton Rush. In addition, the NLL awarded an expansion franchise to Portland, Oregon, which would be known as the
Portland LumberJax, and which brought the league up to eleven teams. The league also announced the establishment of the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame. The Hall opened with five charter members who made contributions to the league and the sport of lacrosse: league founders Russ Cline and Chris Fritz; players Paul and Gary Gait; and the late Les Bartley, the coach with the most wins in league history. The NLL and Reebok announced a multi-year exclusive partnership in which all NLL players would use Reebok equipment and would be exclusively outfitted in the brand's footwear and apparel. The partnership made the brand the official equipment, uniform, and footwear provider of the league.
2006 The Edmonton Rush played their inaugural game and home opener in front of 11,385 fans at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, losing 10–9 in overtime to the San Jose Stealth, the second time an expansion team forced overtime in their inaugural game. The 2006 National Lacrosse League All-Star Game was held at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The West Division defeated the East Division 14–13 in front of 15,924 fans. Calgary Roughnecks forward Lewis Ratcliff scored the game-winning goal with 4.4 seconds remaining. Ratcliff was named the Game MVP. The league finished its 20th season by setting an all-time single season attendance mark, reaching a total of 1,037,147 fans for the 2006 season, which included 88 regular-season games, six playoff games, and the All-Star Game. The Colorado Mammoth defeated the Buffalo Bandits 16–9 in front of 16,104 fans at HSBC Arena in Buffalo to secure the first championship in team history. Mammoth forward Gavin Prout was named game MVP, scoring four goals and adding three assists for seven points in the win. After the season, the NLL announced two new expansion franchises for the 2007 season: a return to New York City with the
New York Titans, and the first team in Chicago in the
Chicago Shamrox. This brought the league back to thirteen teams for the first time since 2002.
2007 The expansion New York Titans played their home opener at Madison Square Garden, defeating the expansion Chicago Shamrox 11–9 in front of 13,127 fans. The Eastern Division defeated the Western Division 20–16 in front of 12,856 fans at Rose Garden in Portland in the 2007 All-Star Game. Buffalo Bandits forward Mark Steenhuis was named the game's Most Valuable Player becoming the first player in NLL history to win two All-Star Game MVP honors. The NLL reached a milestone in 2007 as the league plays its 1,000th regular season game when the Minnesota Swarm hosted the Colorado Mammoth, with the Mammoth winning 11–9. The Rochester Knighthawks defeated the Arizona Sting 13–11 in the 2007 Championship final. John Grant was named Championship Game MVP with a three-goal/five-assist performance. The victory marked the first time that Rochester had won the title since 1997. After the season, the NLL reached a new seven-year CBA with the players' union. However, negotiations were protracted and threatened the 2008 season, to the extent that the Arizona Sting and a new Boston expansion franchise, reviving the Blazers name, announced that they would pause operations until 2009. As such, only twelve teams would compete in 2008.
2008 John Tavares broke Gary Gait's all-time goal scoring record in 2008. Tavares, who had already captured the all-time points and assists records, notched his record-breaking 597th career goal in the third quarter of Buffalo's 17–13 victory over New York. Philadelphia Forward Athan Iannucci broke Gary Gait's single season scoring record of 61 goals. He went on to finish the season with 71 goals. The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Portland LumberJax by the score of 14–13 in the 2008 Championship game at HSBC Arena. The event, which aired nationally on ESPN2, drew a sellout crowd of 18,690 fans. Mark Steenhuis captured the game's MVP honors with five goals and one assist. The Toronto Rock and Rochester Knighthawks both missed the playoffs for the first time in either franchise's history.
2009 The Arizona Sting and
Boston Blazers were both expected to re-join the league for the 2009 season. While the Blazers did so, the Sting instead folded, and its players were dispersed in a dispersal draft. Moreover, the Chicago Shamrox folded after just two seasons, failing to make the playoffs either year. The league also announced the addition of instant replay for officials to review disputed goals and crease violations during games. George Daniel was named new league Commissioner. Calgary won its second championship, defeating New York 12–10 in front of a crowd of 13,042 at Pengrowth Saddledome. Josh Sanderson was named Championship Game MVP, finishing with two goals and three assists. After the season, the San Jose Stealth announced that they were relocating to Everett, where they would be known as the
Washington Stealth. The New York Titans, also relocated, moving to Florida and becoming the
Orlando Titans. Finally, the Portland LumberJax folded after four seasons of play.
2010 The Washington Stealth won the championship in its first season in its new home, defeating the Toronto Rock 15–11 in front of a crowd of 8,609 at Comcast Arena. Lewis Ratcliff was named Championship Game MVP. After the season, the Orlando Titans folded after just one season in Florida.
2011 2011 marked the 25th season for the NLL. The Toronto Rock won its record-tying sixth championship, tying the Philadelphia Wings, by defeating the Washington Stealth 8–7 in front of a crowd of 8,609 at Air Canada Centre. Bob Watson was named Championship Game MVP. After the season, the latest incarnation of the Boston Blazers announced that it was folding after just three seasons, bringing the league down below ten teams for the first time since 2001, where it would stay until 2019.
2012 The Rochester Knighthawks won its third championship, defeating the Edmonton Rush 9–6 in front of a crowd of 9,277 at Blue Cross Arena. Cody Jamieson was named Championship Game MVP. For the first time since 1992, there was no off-season team movement in 2012.
2013 The Rochester Knighthawks won its second-consecutive and fourth overall championship, defeating the Washington Stealth 11–10 in front of a crowd of 5,200 at Langley Events Centre. Cody Jamieson was named Championship Game MVP. After the season, the Stealth announced that they would be re-locating north of the border to become the
Vancouver Stealth, bringing the NLL back to British Columbia for the first time since 2004.
2014 The Rochester Knighthawks won a third-consecutive and fifth overall championship in 2014, defeating Calgary Roughnecks 2–1 in the final series. Game 1 was an 11–7 victory for the Roughnecks in front of a crowd of 16,541 at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Knighthawks won game 2, 16–10, and clinched game 3, 3–2, in front of a crowd of 9,188 at Blue Cross Arena. Dan Dawson was named Championship Game MVP. After the season, the Philadelphia Wings were purchased and moved to Connecticut, where they were renamed the
New England Black Wolves, ending a run of 28 seasons for the Wings in Philadelphia.
2015 The Edmonton Rush won its first championship in 2015, defeating the Toronto Rock 2–0 in the final series. The Rush won game 1, 15–9 in front of a crowd of 9,257 at Air Canada Centre. Game 2 was an 11–10 victory in front of a crowd of 12,275 at Rexall Place. Mark Matthews was named Championship Game MVP. However, the Rush announced after the season that, unable to come to a new arena-lease agreement, the team would be relocating to Saskatoon, where it was renamed the
Saskatchewan Rush. In addition, the Minnesota Swarm were relocated to Atlanta and renamed the
Georgia Swarm.
2016 Nick Sakiewicz was appointed the 5th Commissioner of the NLL ahead of the 2016 season. The Rush won its second-consecutive Champion's Cup and its first after relocating to Saskatchewan, defeating the Buffalo Bandits 2–0 in the final series. Game 1 finished 11–9, in front of a crowd of 12,692 at First Niagara Center. Game 2 finished 11–10 in front of a crowd of 15,182 at SaskTel Centre. Aaron Bold was named Championship Game MVP.
2017 In 2017, the Georgia Swarm won its first championship in just its second season in Georgia, defeating the Saskatchewan Rush 2–0 in the final series. It was the third straight year that the Rush made the finals. Game 1 was an 18–14 result in front of a crowd of 7,642 at Infinite Energy Arena. Game 2 finished 15–14 in front of a crowd of 14,264 at SaskTel Centre. Lyle Thompson was named Championship Game MVP.
2018 In 2018, the Saskatchewan Rush re-gained the title, winning the first
National Lacrosse League Cup, which replaced the Champion's Cup, defeating the Rochester Knighthawks 2–1 in the final series. It was the third title in four seasons for the Rush with the team making the final all four seasons. After the season, the league announced two expansion franchises that would begin play in 2019: a new
Philadelphia Wings franchise along with a new southern California team, the
San Diego Seals. This brought the league back to eleven teams. In addition, the league announced two further expansion teams that would begin play for the 2020 season. First, the
New York Riptide would play out of the Saints' old home in Uniondale. Secondly, while Knighthawks owner Curt Styres announced that he would be moving the franchise from Rochester to Halifax after the 2019 season, the league awarded a new expansion franchise for Rochester to the owners of the Buffalo Sabres,
Pegula Sports and Entertainment, to immediately replace the departing Knighthawks.
2019 The 2019 NLL season was delayed when the Professional Lacrosse Players Association went on
strike shortly before training camp was set to begin over negotiations for a new CBA. On 15 November 2018, the league announced that a counter-proposal submitted by the Players Association had been rejected. Subsequently, the league announced that all games to be played in the first two weeks of the season were canceled. On 24 November, the NLL and the PLPA reached a new five-year collective bargaining agreement. The first week of the season began on December 15 and the league announced each team will still play the standard 18 game schedule. The league kicked off its first game of the season on 15 December, with the Wings returning to Philadelphia. The Wings fell to the visiting Buffalo Bandits 17–15. On 22 December, the
San Diego Seals played their first ever game, upsetting the Colorado Mammoth at the Pepsi Center, 17–12. The Calgary Roughnecks won their third title, defeating Buffalo 2–0 in the final series.
2020 Three teams debuted in the 2020 season. The original Knighthawks completed their move to Nova Scotia and were re-branded the
Halifax Thunderbirds; the departing K-Hawks were replaced by the new expansion
Rochester Knighthawks; and the New York Riptide also began play. This brought the league to thirteen teams for the first time since 2007. On 13 March 2020, league play was indefinitely suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. At the time teams had played 10 to 14 matches. On 4 June, the league announced that the rest of the season and the playoffs were canceled due to the pandemic, and that attention would turn to organizing the 2021 season. However, this development did not stop league business, and in July 2020, a new expansion team was awarded to Fort Worth, Texas. The new team would be known as the
Panther City Lacrosse Club. On 3 February 2021, the 2021 season was also canceled due to logistical issues and uncertainties relating to the pandemic, including travel restrictions and quarantine requirements. The NLL stated that it was turning its attention to planning for the 2022 season. That spring, the New England Black Wolves announced that they would be relocating to New York and would be renamed the
Albany FireWolves, bringing the NLL back to Albany for the first time since 2003. In addition, the league awarded another expansion franchise, this one to Las Vegas, to begin play in 2023. This new team would become the
Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
2022 The NLL returned on 3 December 2021, marking the beginning of the 2022 season, the league's 35th, and the first game action in nearly two years. The fourteen teams, the highest number ever for the league, played a full 18-game schedule. The return was successful, and the season ended with the Colorado Mammoth defeating the Buffalo Bandits on 18 June 2022, winning the championship series 2 games to 1. The season marked the debut of Panther City and the FireWolves.
2023 The 2023 season began 2 December 2022, and ended with the Buffalo Bandits avenging their championship series loss from the previous season, defeating the Colorado Mammoth on 3 June 3, 2023, to win the series 2 games to 1. This was the inaugural season for the
Las Vegas Desert Dogs, bringing the number of teams to fifteen. The
2023 NLL Stadium Showdown, the first outdoor NLL game, was held on 4 March at
Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, between the Desert Dogs and the
San Diego Seals; the Seals won the game 15–12.
2024 The 2024 season began on December 1, 2023, and ended on May 18, 2024, with the Buffalo Bandits sweeping the Albany FireWolves 2–0 in the NLL Finals series to claim their sixth league title. This season introduced "NLL Unboxed", an initiative to promote lacrosse among youth via branded "lacrosse communities" in strategic markets that do not have NLL teams (see NLL Unboxed section below). On February 21, 2024, the NLL announced that the New York Riptide would relocate to Ottawa, and will be renamed the Ottawa Black Bears.
2025 Ahead of the 2025 season, the Panther City Lacrosse Club ceased operations after three seasons of play, returning the league to 14 teams. The Buffalo Bandits started off with a 7-0 record but the winning streak was ended by the San Diego Seals. The Buffalo Bandits became the second team ever to win three championships in a row. The Bandits defeated the Saskatchewan Rush 2-1 in the series with game 1 being 12-10 Bandits, 11-10 Rush, and 15-6 Bandits. Buffalo now leads the league with championships with seven total, additionally Matt Vinc is now the only player to have a three peat on two different teams.
2026 Ahead of the 2026 season, the Albany FireWolves relocated to Oshawa, Ontario. They were temporarily called the FireWolves Lacrosse Club, before being officially renaming to the
Oshawa FireWolves on September 9, 2025. On March 30, 2026, the Philadelphia Wings announced that they would cease operations after the end of the 2026 season, bringing the league to 13 teams.
Commissioners • Darrel Russell, 1987–1997 • John Livsey Jr, 1997–2000 • Jim Jennings, 2000–2009 • George Daniel, 2009–2015 •
Nick Sakiewicz, 2016–2022 • Brett Frood, 2022–present == Championship history ==