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Major League Pickleball / PPA Tour Unite
The merger between the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball was announced in February 2024, uniting the sport's dominant tour operator with its primary...
Major League Pickleball / PPA Tour Unite
The merger between the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball was announced in February 2024, uniting the sport's dominant tour operator with its primary team-based league. The combined entity, capitalized by a $75 million investment round, absorbed the MLP brand under the PPA Tour's operational umbrella. Pardoe, who founded the PPA Tour in 2019, assumed leadership of the unified organization. Steve Kuhn, a former hedge fund manager who created MLP in 2021, transitioned into a strategic advisory role. MLP's distinctive franchise model, which sold teams to high-profile investors including Mark Cuban, Draymond Green, and Kevin Durant, carried over into the new structure. The unified entity controls a dual-track competition calendar. The PPA Tour operates a bracket-style individual pro tour with singles, doubles, and mixed doubles across 25-plus events. MLP functions as a co-ed team competition with a season-ending playoff format. The strategic combination resolved a year-long division that split top players between rival circuits, allowing a unified broadcast strategy across ESPN, ABC, and Fox Sports. The investor group also includes private equity firm SC Holdings. The merger established a centralized governance model that controls tournament production, player contracts, and media rights for the professional game in North America. Post-merger, the organization launched the 2024 season with unified player rosters and a joint schedule. A pivotal development arrived in May 2024 when the PPA Tour signed a multi-year media rights extension with ESPN, expanding coverage across ESPN2 and ESPN+. The organization also deepened its relationship with Tennis Channel, providing additional linear windows. Player compensation remained anchored by guaranteed PPA Tour contracts for top-ranked professionals — including Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns — alongside MLP team salaries under a league-operated system. The organization maintains a physical presence customized for tournament logistics, without a publicly identified single headquarters. Structurally, the union represents a rare instance where a player-driven tour absorbed a franchise-based league during a sport's hypergrowth phase. Unlike tennis or golf, where competing circuits required decades to resolve, pickleball's power consolidation occurred within its first professional generation. The unified board retains influence from both the tour operators and the celebrity franchise owners, creating a governance layer where media rights decisions intersect with high-profile individual stakeholders.
General information
Firm type
other
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
—
Corporate office
United States
Principals
Connor Pardoe
Founder and CEO of PPA Tour
Steve Kuhn
Former founder of MLP
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What was the structure of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball merger?
The PPA Tour absorbed Major League Pickleball in February 2024, uniting the individual pro tour and the team-based league into a single entity. The deal was backed by a $75 million investment round, and Connor Pardoe assumed leadership of the unified organization. MLP's team franchise owners retained their interest and an advisory role, while the PPA Tour's operational infrastructure became the governing layer for the combined professional game.
Who are the high-profile investors in MLP and how did the merger affect them?
Major League Pickleball attracted a roster of celebrity and athlete team owners including LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, and Mark Cuban. Under the 2024 merger, these franchise owners retained their equity and transitioned into stakeholder roles within the unified structure. Their ongoing involvement connects the league's media strategy with an unusually deep bench of high-reach individual influencer-owners.
Who holds the media rights for professional pickleball after the merger?
The unified PPA Tour / MLP entity controls centralized media rights for the top-tier professional game. In May 2024, the organization extended its partnership with ESPN in a multi-year deal covering ESPN2 and ESPN+. Additional linear coverage airs through Tennis Channel and other distribution partners, consolidating a fragmented broadcast landscape under one commercial agreement.
How does the PPA Tour compensate professional pickleball players?
The organization operates a dual compensation model. Top-ranked professionals such as Anna Leigh Waters and Ben Johns hold guaranteed contracts with the PPA Tour that cover tournament appearances, prize money minimums, and travel. Separately, MLP teams pay player salaries for the co-ed team competition season. This combined structure is unique among American racquet sports.
How does the competition format work now that the PPA Tour and MLP are united?
The unified calendar runs two competition formats without conflict. The PPA Tour operates a traditional singles, doubles, and mixed doubles bracket tour across more than 25 annual stops. MLP functions as a co-ed team league with a season-long points race and a playoff finale. Players no longer must choose between circuits, which was a central friction point before the merger.
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