Pickleball Craze Attracts Major Investors Including Lebron James and Tom Brady

Pickleball, the fastest-growing sport in America, has gained incredible popularity over the last few years, and now, even celebrity athletes want in on it.

Pickleball was started in 1965 with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball. According to USA Pickleball, Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell were hanging out at Pritchard’s home in Bainbridge Island, Washington with their families and needed something to keep them entertained. Failing to find a full set of badminton rackets, the two men settled for ping-pong paddles and the plastic ball and pickleball was born. 

Pickleball has been around for many years but didn’t start to explode until the pandemic. CNBC explained that pickleball grew an average of 7.2% annually in the United States from 2016 to 2019 but then skyrocketed 39.3% in growth from 2020 to 2021. Now, nearly 5 million Americans are playing the sport. 

Anne Worcester, Strategic Advisor for MLP (Major League Pickleball), did an interview with CNBC and described the sport as, “It’s social, it’s fun, it’s accessible, it’s affordable, it’s got everything that the consumer wants or needs.” 

The major surge in popularity has led to increased equipment sales, the creation of more facilities, tournaments with cash prizes and an increased desire to invest. 

“Professional leagues are competing for players, with Major League Pickleball, or MLP, which just launched last year, making headlines with investments in the seven-figure range from celebrity athletes like LeBron James and Tom Brady,” according to CNBC. “Next year, the MLP is looking to expand from 12 teams to 16 and to shell out over $2 million in prize money.”

The future of pickleball appears monumental, with an estimated 40 million players across the world by 2030. The craze surrounding the sport does not seem to be ending any time soon.