Drew Brees is getting back into sports, but rather than football he is now focusing his time and energy on your mother’s new favorite pastime.
The future hall of fame quarterback became a part owner of the Mad Drops Pickleball Club yesterday, a club based out of Austin, TX that is part of Major League Pickleball. Brees joins Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Jim Buss, Ryan Serhant of Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing New York, and venture capital firm Good Alpha Industries as a partial owner of the team.
While pickleball may seem like a silly, new activity intended to give middle-aged women a physical alternative to playing mahjong with their gal pals, it is actually a rapidly growing sport. In fact, according to The Sports Fitness Industry Association, pickleball saw a participatory growth rate of 39% over the past two years, making it the fastest-growing sport in America.
Due to its growth in popularity, MPL was founded in 2021 by CEO Steve Kuhn. The league features 12 teams, each of which is co-ed, made up of several professional pickleball players. Yep, professionals. I guess you really can be whatever you want when you grow up.
Brees is not the first celebrity to invest ownership in the novel league. Gary Vaynerchuk, that dude that is all over your for you page talking about NFTs, also owns a team in the league. Other famous owners include Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry and former tennis pro James Blake.
Brees previously worked as an NBC analyst this past NFL season after retiring from playing back in 2021. However, a couple months ago he and the network agreed to mutually part ways, giving Brees a whole lot of free time. The former Super Bowl MVP soon took to Twitter to let the world know of his possible future plans where he listed off multiple potential future endeavors, one of which was actually pickleball.
“I am an avid pickleball player, fan and student of the game,” Brees said when discussing his purchase of the team. “I look forward to helping raise awareness around the incredible players and competitions in MLP, helping grow the sport of pickleball and fostering overall fan engagement.”
The Mad Drops begin their quest for the MLP championship August 5 in Newport Beach, CA.
