The National Lacrosse League (NLL) announced a partnership with Wilson Sporting Goods, naming Wilson and their EvoShield line as an official supplier of performance-driven sports protective gear. It is the first time that Wilson will actively engage in the sport of lacrosse.
Wilson’s core sports are football, baseball, golf and tennis.
“We are proud to bring a celebrated company like Wilson into the National Lacrosse League. Our goal is to work with best in class brands and bring them to the sport of lacrosse, and it is exciting to add them to our growing list of partners,” said Kevin Morgan, EVP, CRO for the NLL. “With EvoShield our elite athletes have the opportunity to use the most advanced technology in protective equipment and continue to perform at the highest levels, so the impact this can have for health and wellness is hugely important to the expansion of the game for all.”
“The NLL continues to redefine and advance the sport of lacrosse with a vision that is forward thinking, and we are pleased to be joining Nick and his team,” said Pat Ryan, Global Product Director for EvoShield. “We look forward to actively working with NLL athletes, gaining their insights and feedback on new protective ideas, and developing additional EvoShield products that keep players on the field.”
Wilson-owned EvoShield makes custom-molded protective and performance gear using a proprietary custom-molding technology called Gel-To-Shell. Products include wrist guards, elbow guards, rib and chest protectors.
Under this new partnership, EvoShield will supply NLL athletes with a variety of protective gear engineered to keep players safe while competing at elite levels. EvoShield products available to NLL athletes include wrist/slash guards, chest guards, thumb guards, toe guards, thigh guards, rib protective shirts, and more.
The NLL is North America’s largest professional lacrosse league, ranking third in average attendance for pro indoor sports, with 13 teams in key markets across North America. The NLL experienced substantial growth last season with nearly a million total ticket sales, a 28-percent increase from 2017-18, and 60 percent of ticket sales were from people who never played lacrosse. Digital viewership also rose significantly through Turner and B/R Live, showing substantial increases in total unit sales (up 151 percent from last year), average unique viewers (+27 percent) and average minute audiences (+14 percent). Sponsorship revenues are projected at a 29-percent increase from 2018 to 2019.
