Major League Pickleball's newest team owner is Anheuser-Busch

Major League Pickleball has named its newest squad owner, and it's a large brew brand.

The rapidly increasing sports league announced connected Tuesday that Anheuser-Busch volition acquisition a Major League Pickleball team. The squad volition statesman playing successful the 2023 season.

In caller months, MLP has announced dozens of high-profile investors, including NBA superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant and Tom Brady and Drew Brees of NFL fame. Anheuser-Busch is the archetypal Fortune 500 institution to acquisition an MLP team.

Financial presumption of the woody were not disclosed, but a league typical told CNBC the going complaint for a squad is successful the 7 figures.

"We emotion the accessibility of pickleball and we deliberation it's an astonishing accidental for america to summation relevance and excitement for our brands," Matt Davis, caput of Anheuser-Busch's U.S. sports selling and partnerships, told CNBC.

Next twelvemonth volition beryllium its biggest twelvemonth to date, MLP said. The league is increasing from 12 to 16 teams, with events doubling to six. Player prize wealth and payouts volition transcend $2 million, it said.

Anheuser-Busch said it volition beryllium progressive successful each aspects of the team, including choosing players successful drafts and deciding connected sponsors. Davis said helium hopes to enactment a wide manager and different squad members successful spot successful the days ahead.

"Our absorption volition beryllium on, however bash we make a compelling squad and compelling squad civilization and individuality that volition resonate with fans? I deliberation from there, we'll look for strategical partners and sponsorship collaborations with different teams to marque definite we're doing things that are perpetually breathtaking the instrumentality bases," helium said.

Major League Pickleball besides sees the concern arsenic a large win.

"Anheuser-Busch is 1 of the astir impactful nonrecreational athletics sponsors successful the U.S. To person them articulation arsenic an ownership spouse is an unthinkable accidental for Major League Pickleball," said MLP laminitis and CEO Steve Kuhn.

Pickleball — a transverse betwixt tennis, badminton and pingpong — has surged successful popularity, with galore radical picking up the athletics during the pandemic arsenic a harmless mode to beryllium societal and progressive outdoors. In 2021, astir 5 cardinal radical played the sport, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

Google searches for "pickleball" person risen 219% successful the U.S implicit the past 5 years, according to paddle shaper Selkirk.