Major League Pickleball franchises sold, valuations in the tens of millions

A whopping $15 million.

That's the going rate for a Major League Pickleball team today after breaking news that a "California team" has sold 90 percent of its stake for that amount.

This is essential because The Dink has learned that the ATX Pickleballers and Milwaukee Mashers – two Challenger Level teams – have decided not to operate this year and were bought out by the newly formed UPA (United Pickleball Association).

Adjusted 2024 Challenger Level Draft order for Wednesday's Draft:
1 Frisco Pandas
2 Chicago Slice
3 Miami Pickleball Club
4 Atlanta Bouncers
5 Florida Smash
6 Brooklyn Aces
7 SoCal Hard 8s
8 Las Vegas Night Owls
9 Bay Area Breakers
10 California Black Bears

The UPA is the newly-formed organization between the MLP and PPA.

According to sources, the UPA will attempt to resell the teams for the 2025 season, meaning that 2024 will only have 10 Challenger Level teams, but will hopefully be back to 12 (for a combined 24 MLP teams) in 2025.

It's estimated these teams will sell for $15-$20 million.

When the teams were first sold in 2021, investors spent between $200 and $500K per team.

For those keeping score at home, that's roughly a 40x investment. Not too shabby for a three-years of investment in pickleball.

Does anyone have $15 million we can borrow?