PRESS RELEASE
To close out this year’s Native American Heritage Month, the National Lacrosse League unveiled a new, multi-year program with storytelling giant Marvel, focused on honoring and popularizing lacrosse’s Indigenous origin story with game-specific promotions starting in the upcoming 2023-24 NLL season.
The central theme of the collaboration, the history of lacrosse, will be at the core of a custom comic book written by Paul Allor, in close collaboration with the NLL’s Indigenous consultants, drawn by Indigenous creator Shaun Beyale, and a cover by JL Giles.
“With NLL-style sixes lacrosse enjoying heightened global momentum with the IOC’s recent vote to add the sport to the upcoming LA28 Summer Olympic games, the NLL wanted to celebrate lacrosse’s fabled beginnings with our rapidly expanding worldwide fan base,” said Kurt Hunzeker, the NLL’s Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations. “Great stories are the heartbeat of the Marvel Universe, and the NLL is honored to work with Marvel to bring the legend of North America’s original pastime to life.”
The custom comic book will only be available at designated Marvel Super Hero™ themed games every NLL team will host each year of the program. The same core story will be offered in each market, and Marvel will produce variant covers featuring star players from every NLL team that will be given out at their respective games.
The collaboration was facilitated by AthLife, Inc., Marvel’s longtime sports-centric agency of record.
In addition to the comic book premium distribution, each NLL team will wear special edition Marvel Super Hero-inspired jerseys on floor during its designated game. NLL fans can expect more Marvel-themed activations throughout the year.
Each NLL team has designated its Marvel Super Hero theme night for the upcoming 2023-24 season:
- Albany FireWolves: Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7pm ET, vs. New York
- Buffalo Bandits: Friday, March 8, 2024, 7:30pm ET, vs. Saskatchewan
- Calgary Roughnecks: Friday, March 22, 2024, 7pm MT, vs. Albany
- Colorado Mammoth: Saturday, March 2, 2024, 7pm MT, vs. Saskatchewan
- Georgia Swarm: Friday, April 19, 2024, 7:30pm ET, vs. Rochester
- Halifax Thunderbirds: Friday, February 16, 2024, 7:30pm AT, vs. Buffalo
- Las Vegas Desert Dogs: Saturday, April 13, 2024, 7pm PT, vs. Colorado
- New York Riptide: Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7:30pm ET, vs. San Diego
- Panther City Lacrosse Club: Sunday, March 3, 2024, 3pm CT, vs. Rochester
- Philadelphia Wings: Saturday, March 2, 2024, 1pm ET, vs. Calgary
- Rochester Knighthawks: Sunday, April 21, 2024, 3pm ET, vs. Philadelphia
- San Diego Seals: Friday, February 23, 2024, 7pm ET, vs. Georgia
- Saskatchewan Rush: Saturday, February 24, 2024, 7pm CT, vs. Halifax
- Toronto Rock: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 7pm ET, vs. Halifax
- Vancouver Warriors: Saturday, February 10, 2024, 7pm PT, vs. Saskatchewan
The 2023-24 NLL season will commence with NLL Faceoff Weekend tomorrow with a “NLL Game of the Week” doubleheader on TSN in Canada as Saskatchewan travels to Halifax at 7pm ET and Panther City opens up in Vancouver at 10pm ET. ESPN2 will carry the first “NLL Saturday Night Showcase” this weekend with Philadelphia battling New York starting at 7:30pm ET.
About the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional lacrosse league, welcoming a record 1,165,528 fans attending games in 2022-23. Founded in 1986, the NLL is comprised of 15 franchises across the United States and Canada: Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, New York Riptide, Panther City Lacrosse Club (Fort Worth, Texas), Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, and Vancouver Warriors. The NLL recently unveiled its largest brand campaign ever, “Welcome to The Next Major League™” and introduced its comprehensive grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, that will expand the League’s footprint to more than 60 communities across North America by 2027.
For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.
About Marvel
Marvel is one of the world’s most prominent entertainment brands, built on an unparalleled library of iconic characters and stories that have shaped pop culture for 85 years. The Marvel brand spans entertainment, including film, television, publishing, licensing, games, live events, digital media, and more.
For more information, visit marvel.com. © 2023 MARVEL
About AthLife
Established in 2004, AthLife is a privately-owned company that hold service contracts with many sports and entertainment properties, including Marvel Entertainment, the NBA & G League, NFLPA, The Trust (powered by the NFLPA), Major League Soccer, National Basketball Retired Players Association, and college and university athletic departments. Since 2010, AthLife has helped facilitate hundreds of Marvel Super Hero™ themed events and activations for Marvel with more than 100 professional and minor league sports franchises. ©2023 AthLife
