LRMR Ventures founded in 2006 and led by LeBron “King James” James and his business partner Maverick Carter, joined a group of investors which include NBA players Draymond Green and Kevin Love to purchase a Major League Pickleball (MLP) expansion team on Wednesday.
The SpringHill Company chief marketing officer Paul Rivera, and Relevent Sports Group co-owner and CEO Daniel Sillman are among the other investors.
Pickleball, a hybrid of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton that dates back to the 1960s, is gaining popularity. The MLP, founded in 2021, is the country’s first professional team sports league. The league’s expansion from 12 to 16 teams provided James’ group with the opportunity to invest in a new league featuring elite professional talent. However, the financial details of the purchase were not disclosed.
“Having SC Holdings, LRMR Ventures, and their incredible group as owners and investors in Major League Pickleball is not just great for MLP, it’s a watershed moment for pickleball in general,” MLP founder Steve Kuhn said.
Major League Pickleball
Pickleball players will compete in six tournaments in six different U.S. cities in 2023 for more than $2 million in cash prizes, according to the league. The league also intends to increase the number of grassroots pickleball players from approximately five million today to approximately 40 million by 2030.
“Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country, building communities in cities and towns all over the world,” Kuhn said. “This investment and the platform that this group provides will significantly help us with our goal to reach 40 million pickleball players by 2030”.
The newly purchased team, which does not yet have a name, is valued in the seven figures, according to Anne Worcester, MLP’s strategic adviser.
“This new ownership group brings extensive experience across sports, media, branding, entertainment,” Worcester said. “We are excited to work with them to expand and to bring pickleball to new audiences.”
The 2022 MLP season finale will take place in Columbus, Ohio, from October 14-16, and will feature the MLP’s largest single-event prize purse of $319,000. The winning team will be awarded $100,000.
Other pickleball team owners include former Super Bowl champion Drew Brees, Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk, former No. 4 tennis player James Blake and the host Ryan Serhant.
MLP is presently looking for new ownership groups for the league’s final three expansion teams. The league is actively considering around 20 bids for teams from over 60 different groups.
LeBron business ventures
MLP is not the Los Angeles Lakers star’s first foray into professional sports. He and his childhood friend, Carter, are collaborating with Fenway Sports Group, the owners of National Hockey League’s Pittsburgh Penguins, MLB’s the Boston Red Sox, Premier League’s football team’ Liverpool F.C., and NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing,
James and Carter also co-founded SpringHill Entertainment in 2020. The company assisted in the production of “Space Jam: A New Legacy,” a film starring James that was released in 2021, as well as the 2019 HBO documentary “What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali”.
AT&T, Crypto.com, GMC, Pepsi, Rimowa, and Walmart are among the companies that have endorsed the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. LeBron also previously agreed to a lifetime contract with Nike worth more than $1 billion.
The 37-year-old player was a spokesperson for Blaze Pizza and appeared in commercials for the restaurant. According to Forbes, he now owns 10% of the company, bringing his net worth up to $30 million.
According to Forbes, his net worth hits $1.2 billion this year. In 2014, the Ohio native told GQ that he was working hard to maximize his business ventures and that he hoped to one day reach the billion-dollar mark.