Professional pickleball went from a niche curiosity to a genuine sports-business story in just a few years. Here's what the PPA/MLP merger, the celebrity ownership groups, and a $750 million valuation actually mean for a sport most players still think of as a backyard hobby.
COMPETITIVE PICKLEBALL
TV DEALS & INVESTMENT
The Merger: How PPA and MLP Became One
For years, professional pickleball ran on two separate tours with different formats: the PPA Tour (individual and doubles tournament play) and Major League Pickleball, or MLP (a team-based format). In 2024, the two merged into the United Pickleball Association (UPA), consolidating the sport's professional structure under one organization rather than splitting player time, sponsorship dollars, and fan attention across competing tours.
The Money: A $750 Million Valuation
In May 2026, Pickleball Inc. — the UPA's parent business — announced a $225 million capital raise led by Apollo Sports Capital, valuing the company at $750 million. For 2026, the leagues are planning more than 50 events, roughly 180 professional athletes, and over $33 million in total prize money, including a $1 million prize for the winning Major League Pickleball team. Attendance and revenue are both climbing fast: PPA ticket revenue was reported up 58% and MLP attendance up 57% in the first half of 2026 alone.
A $750 million valuation for a sport that most of its own players started playing in a driveway is the clearest sign yet that pickleball's boom isn't just a participation story anymore.
The Celebrity Owners
Part of what's driven pro pickleball's visibility is a genuinely star-studded ownership list. Tom Brady and tennis Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters co-own the Las Vegas Night Owls, an MLP expansion team, as part of an ownership group led by Knighthead Capital Management. LeBron James invested through his LRMR Ventures group, alongside fellow NBA champions Draymond Green and Kevin Love. Other MLP team owners include NFL veteran Drew Brees, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk. It's a genuinely unusual concentration of A-list sports and business figures for a sport this young.
How Players Actually Get Paid
The compensation structure is shifting too. The leagues are moving away from purely guaranteed contracts toward a bigger prize-money model — under the current structure, a player's guaranteed contract is spread across 2026–2028 with a minimum guarantee of $50,000 per year, alongside access to substantially larger prize-money pools than in past seasons. It's a deliberate move toward a more traditional pro-sports pay structure, where results on court translate more directly into earnings.
How to Watch
TV deals with ESPN and CBS Sports have made pro pickleball meaningfully easier to actually watch compared to a few years ago, when most coverage was streaming-only. If watching the pros has you wanting to upgrade your own game, the paddle behind the sport's most dominant player is a reasonable place to start.
JOOLA Ben Johns Hyperion CFS 16mm
$219.95Carbon-Flex Surface face, 16mm core — the paddle behind the sport's most dominant player
See our full premium paddle guide for how it compares to other pro-tier options, or our rules explainer if the scoring calls on TV don't make sense yet.
