Drake and Michael B. Jordan Join Growing Roster of High-Profile Pickleball Team Investors

Drake and Michael B. Jordan are getting into the pickleball game.

On Thursday, Major League Pickleball team the Brooklyn Aces announced that the Grammy Award-winning “Hotline Bling” rapper and the “Black Panther” star have signed on as new investors.

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Jordan, who also backs the Alpine F1 team and A.F.C Bournemouth football club, and Drake join a growing roster of high-profile pickleball investors from entertainment and sports including Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Heidi Klum, Tom Brady, Eva Longoria, Michael Phelps, Patrick Mahomes, Rich Paul, Mark Cuban, Naomi Osaka, Kate Upton and Tom Ricketts.

As for the Brooklyn Aces, the two A-listers are part of a larger group of new investors, including UnitedMasters and Translation founder and CEO Steve Stoute; CityPickle co-founders Mary Cannon and Erica Desai; LionTree chairman & CEO Aryeh Bourkoff; Baby2Baby co-CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof; and Hunting Lane founder and producer Jamie Patricof.

The Brooklyn Aces said in a statement that it will use this new investment to continue its “committed to engaging with the pickleball community, growing its brand presence, and elevating Aces athletes heading into the new season.”

Boardroom CEO and Brooklyn Aces majority owner Rich Kleiman said in a statement that he is “thrilled” to have an “incredible” group of investors joining the team as it looks to continue to grow the team and raise the profile of Major League Pickleball as a whole. “In addition to the marketing and creative acumen that Michael B. Jordan, Drake, and Steve Stoute bring to the table, our investor group includes some of the savviest entrepreneurs in the business,” Kleiman said. “We’re looking forward to what our second season brings.”

The Aces will be back on the court for their next MLP tournament in Peachtree Corners, Ga., Sept. 21-24. The team will feature Catherine Parenteau (No. 2 world ranked female) and Andrea Koop (MLP Daytona runner-up), alongside Hayden Patriquin (youngest male in premier league), and Tyler Loong (two-time MLP champion). Samin Odhwani will assume the role of GM for a second season.

Shoe companies have also invested in the growing sport. Earlier this month, Skechers was named the official footwear sponsor for the 2023 English Open and English Nationals Pickleball Tournaments. The announcement marked the footwear company’s latest investment in the fast-growing sport. Skechers was previously named the official footwear sponsor of the US Open Pickleball Championships and the Carvana Professional Pickleball Association tour, starting in the 2023 season. Skechers also became the footwear sponsor for the Pickleball Canada National Championship in May and has sponsored Major League Pickleball and the Association of Pickleball Players.

Other brands like Fila, K-Swiss, Easy Spirit and Alice + Olivia have also looked to capitalize on the growth with pickleball capsules, product launches and sponsorship deals.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, total pickleball participation in the U.S. grew 85.7 percent to 8.9 million players in 2022, up from 4.8 million players in 2021.

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