Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tosses versus the New Orleans Saints throughout the 2nd quarter at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on September 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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Seven- time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady and International Tennis Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters are the most recent prominent professional athletes to sign up with the pickleball fad.
Major League Pickleball revealed on Wednesday that Brady and Clijsters are headlining their latest ownership group to purchase a growth group, which will start playing in 2023.
Pickleball, America’s fastest-growing sport, has actually brought in other prominent owners, consisting of NBA champs LeBron James, Draymond Green and Kevin Love and Super Bowl champ Drew Brees, in addition to billionaire financier and Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and previous tennis star James Blake.
The Brady and Clijsters group is led by KnightheadCapital It likewise consists of RBC bond saleswoman Callie Simpkins and JPMorgan monetary consultant Kaitlyn Kerr, who will function as its basic supervisor. The growth group is set to be 50% female-owned.
The brand-new ownership group will become part of Major League Pickleball’s most current development strategy, that includes broadening to 16 groups from 12, and doubling the variety of occasions to 6. Prize cash and payments are likewise anticipated to grow and exceed $2 million.
“What really shines through in working with these amazing individuals is their passion for the sport,” the league’s creator, Steve Kuhn, stated about the brand-new group.
Financial regards to were not revealed. In September, Anne Worcester, Major League Pickleball’s tactical consultant, informed CNBC that need for groups has actually grown significantly which costs remain in the seven-figure variety.
Pickleball– which is had fun with paddles– counted more than 4.8 million gamers in the United States in 2015, according to the 2022 Sports & & Fitness Industry Association Single Sport Report onPickleball Kuhn stated the league’s objective is to reach 40 million pickleball gamers by 2030.
Kim Clijsters of Belgium in action versus Caroline Wozniacki (not seen) of Denmark throughout Expo 2020 Dubai Tennis Week at the Expo Sports Arena in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on February 19, 2022.
Waleed Zain|Anadolu Agency|Getty Images
Brady began playing the sport 4 years ago with Knighthead Capital owner Tom Wagner, individuals knowledgeable about the matter stated. He typically has fun with his kids and has actually checked out developing a pickleball court at his house. Brady thinks it’s a great financial investment as he takes a look at the next phase of his profession as a business owner.
Clijsters informed CNBC she got pickleball after retiring from tennis and plays routinely with her organization partners. She has yet to have fun with Brady.
“We know that he loves to play pickleball and is very competitive,” she informed CNBC. “We can’t wait to get a game in and see where everybody’s levels at.”
The Belgian tennis star states she thinks pickleball is a great financial investment since of its availability, and she enjoys the reality that males and females can play together.
“For me, playing tennis with my husband and my kids is not that easy, right? But when I play pickleball we can all have a fun game,” she stated.
