• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 12, 2025

Mark Cuban Is Latest Celebrity To Join The Pickleball Craze

  • The league will begin play in 2023 and will initially feature six rosters.
  • Several of the sport’s top players, including the PPA Tour’s top five male and female athletes, will be part of the player pool.
Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

The professional pickleball push is continuing full steam ahead — and now it has attracted one of the sports world’s most famous investors.

The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) announced it is launching VIBE Pickleball — a team-based league — with Mark Cuban as the league’s first team owner.

VIBE will begin play in 2023 and will initially feature six rosters. Several of the sport’s top players — including the PPA Tour’s top five male and female athletes — will be part of the player pool.

  • Teams will be selected at a live draft in Las Vegas in December.
  • Cuban and the other five team ownership groups — which will be announced in the leadup to the draft — will select their teams.
  • The owners will have the ability to add, drop, and trade players throughout the season with league consent.

“Just like millions of other Americans, I’ve been following pickleball over the past few years, and I couldn’t pass up the chance to invest in the fastest-growing game in the country,” said Cuban.

VIBE says it will televise matches throughout the inaugural season as part of the PPA Tour’s existing relationships with ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and Tennis Channel.

All-Star Teams

While pickleball as a whole has been a hot investment, pro team leagues have been particularly popular with celebrity investors.

A group led by LeBron James purchased a Major League Pickleball team in September, with the Tom Brady-Kim Clijsters group and Kevin Durant’s Thirty Five Ventures buying MLP teams in October.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Apr 6, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; The LIV Golf logo is on display along the 10th hole during the second round of LIV Golf Miami golf tournament at Trump National Doral.

LIV Golf’s New Leadership Reapplies for World Ranking Points

The league’s first attempt was denied in 2023.

All-Star Game Returns to Atlanta With Big Plans After 2021 Exit

The league’s jewel event is set to be a global showcase for The Battery.

Suns All In on Booker, Who Signs Record Extension Amidst Chaos

The Suns changed their head coach for the fourth time in four years.

Deion Sanders Rips ‘Bulljunk’ in CFB, Calls for NFL-Style Salary Cap

Coach Prime is frustrated with the new revenue-sharing era.

Featured Today

Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Rimouski, QC - JUNE 1: Final Game of the 2025 Memorial Cup between the Medicine Hats Tigers and the London Knights on June 1, 2025, at the Colisée Financière Sun Life in Rimouski, Qc.
July 11, 2025

CHL Is Facing a ‘Pandora’s Box’ of Questions Amid NCAA Talent Departure

As players defect to college, the Canadian Hockey League won’t cede ground.
Jun 28, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh (29) bats during the game between the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners at Globe Life Field.
July 9, 2025

The Torpedo Bat Business Is Still Going Strong: ‘Here to Stay’

Demand for the oddly shaped bats has stayed strong across the sport.
July 6, 2025

American Celebs Want to Be Sports Owners. Soccer Is Where They Start

As U.S. team prices climb, investors set their sights abroad.
Stephen Curry celebrates after sinking the winning putt during the final round of the American Century Celebrity Championship golf tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Stateline, Nev., Sunday, July 16, 2023.

Golf’s Hottest Celebrity Tournament Keeps Getting More Exclusive

The American Century Championship tees off at Lake Tahoe on Friday.
May 28, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren (7) and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves in game five of the western conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center.
July 10, 2025

How Does the NBA Salary Cap Work?

The NBA salary cap gives teams a spending limit for their rosters.
Bruce Meyer and Tony Clark of the MLBPA
July 10, 2025

MLB, Players’ Union Spar Over Salary Cap As Labor Fight Looms

The MLB Players Association’s No. 2 executive outlines what he sees owners doing.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Feb 5, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell during the NFLPA press conference at the Super Bowl LIX media center at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
July 10, 2025

NFLPA Head Has Side Hustle With PE Firm That Can Invest in..

The NFLPA’s executive director is embroiled in multiple controversies.
July 10, 2025

Murphy: Club WC Snags Won’t Derail Biggest Event ‘in Human History’

New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium is the concluding site of both FIFA events.
Crystal Palace FC
July 10, 2025

Crystal Palace’s Europa League Spot in Limbo After Lyon Wins Appeal

The ruling on Olympique Lyonnais was overturned this week on appeal.
July 9, 2025

U.K. Appoints New Soccer Regulator, EPL Matches Stay Behind Paywall

Men’s soccer in England will receive new levels of oversight.