All language subtitles for Dreambreaker.A.Pickleball.Story.2024.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC5.1-[YTS.MX]

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

What do I love about pickleball?

It's a sense of community
that pickleball

is breeding
throughout the country.

It's the one sport that has
transcended all boundaries.

Age, race, religion,
sex, abled, disabled.

It doesn't matter if you're
7 years old or 97 years old.

You can go out and play
and have a good time.

Pickleball is considered

the fastest-growing sport
in the US,

with some reports claiming
more than 36 million Americans

picked up a paddle
just last year.

It's a magic moment in a sport

that is just becoming popular

in a way that
we've not seen in my lifetime.

Bingo used to be the most
attended thing at Cypress Cove,

and now it's pickleball.

There is a social part of it

that really does
save many people's lives.

I've been
at the bottom of the bottom,

but when I'm on the court,

all that matters is
hitting this ball over this net.

Pickleball brought us together.

It's a pickleball love story.

It is.

It has made my life full.

It has made my life
with a purpose.

The pickleball community

is so there for each other.

I've seen people's lives saved
on the pickleball court,

and, unfortunately,

I've seen somebody die
on the pickleball court.

But he died,
he died doing what he loved.

The money being thrown around in pickleball

right now is insane.

Some of it wisely,

some of it may be
not so wisely.

With its surging popularity,

conflict emerged between

the professional
pickleball leagues MLP,

the team format backed
by A-list investors,

and the PPA,
considered by many the sport's true tour,

establishes
player rankings

and determines
the best player in the world.

Both leagues are competing
for TV deals,

sponsors, and top talent.

I think
there's some competition

between the leagues.

A lot of big money behind it,

a lot of billionaires
who are funding pickleball.

Occasionally I have dreams about pickleball,

but as I've gotten more involved

in the organization
part of pickleball

as opposed
to the playing part,

those dreams sometimes
turn into nightmares.

One or two of these leagues

are gonna go up in smoke.

Now, I don't know
which one's gonna survive.

Probably the one who's got
the most billionaires behind it.

To the big money
coming into pickleball,

do what you wanna do,
but don't ruin it.

Howdy.

My name is Mike Sliwa.

My friends call me Sleeves,

and I live in a yurt
in Cliff, New Mexico.

And this is where I record

the Senior Pickleball
Report Channel.

And I'm a pickleball fan.

A big pickleball fan.

So unless you live
further off grid than I do,

you may not know
what pickleball is.

It was invented by three guys

in Bainbridge Island,
Washington, in the 1960s.

Lots of folks think
the sport was named after

the family's founder dog,
Pickles.

Truth is, it comes from
the crew term "pickle boat,"

the boat made up
of a hodgepodge of rowers

that really don't fit
together as a team.

Makes sense if you recall,

pickleball was first played
with equipment

from other popular sports
of the day.

Anyways, COVID hits,
pickleball explodes.

There's a paddle
in everybody's hand,

and, of course, money starts
to roll into the sport.

And that could be for the better
or for the worse.

But what we get out of it

is a thing called
professional pickleball.

Yeah, that's a thing.

Now we have competing leagues,
we have competing halls of fame,

and now we have two rich guys
who may or may not want to

control the entire
pickleball universe.

And caught in the crossfire
are a bunch of folks

just trying to make
an honest living

as professional
pickleball players.

So, buckle up.
It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

But first, we have
to go back to 2021

where this kinda got going.

The Major League Pickleball
inaugural tournament

in a little dusty town
called Dripping Springs, Texas.

I'm Ryan Sherry here at Dreamland.

I play tennis
at the University of Florida.

Um, you know, I was there,
I was number two in the nation.

Sixteen in the world in tennis.

Um, love pickleball.

Uh, a couple of years ago,
I introduced to it

and, uh, you know,
being 38 years old,

it's pretty cool to have
an opportunity

to play pro, um, sport.

And I love it.

Marriages used to be
getting broken

from guys going
to bars and nightclubs.

Now it's staying too long
at the pickleball, you know, complex.

It's, uh, it's just,
it's just fun.

MLP is different from BPA
or other tournaments

most of us play in every week.

It's an event.

It's a party event,
which I love.

Just like in the NBA or NFL,

you got owners
drafting their players.

Here it's two guys,
two girls per team, four games a match.

If no one emerges
a clear winner,

it's settled
by a single showdown

where men and women
can go head-to-head

in a way I've never seen
in sports.

It's called a dreambreaker.

Uh, A, B, C, D, cut to the sound,

pickleball is awesome.

Welcome to Dreamland.

I am Steve Kuhn.

I'm the founder of
Major League Pickleball and Dreamland.

I found Dreamland
because I wanted to celebrate

what I think is
the most powerful brand in human history,

the American dream.

At Dreamland, we celebrate
that by doing mini golf,

which is
a great American sport.

Pickleball, a great sport
invented in America.

And all these sports are meant

as ways to bring
people together.

We have plenty of things
in this country right now

which are dividing us.

No one's talking about politics

on the pickleball court.

Everybody is having fun.

Some people
describe America

as a place where you
can have a second chance.

If things are not going well
in your country,

you can come to America

and maybe find your way
to the American dream.

Uh, some people have said

that pickleball
is the same in sports.

You're a little bit older,
but you can come to pickleball and probably compete.

Whether you compete
at the highest level or not?

Maybe, but you certainly
can have a great time,

and it's something
you can probably play

for the rest of your life.

Because the name of pickleball
is so strange,

people haven't taken it
as seriously,

and I think it makes it
less of a sport.

As an investor,
as a hedge fund manager,

I look for things that are
undervalued or mispriced.

Pickleball is undervalued.
It's mispriced.

So I never answer the question,

"Why is the sport
named pickleball?"

I always say that
I'm thankful that it is.

Morgan,
what's your biggest takeaway

as we've watched
two and a half days of Major League pickleball?

Yeah, I mean,
I think it has to be just...

People ask me,

why do I love
the pickleball pros so much?

Obviously because
I love the sport.

You're gonna love the players
who are best at it.

It's a tough life to be
a pickleball pro.

These pros are playing

sometimes 20 to 30
tournaments a year.

They're traveling
every other week,

sometimes even more than that.

You're paying for the entry fees

and the tournaments
and the hotels and the airfare.

It does get expensive.

Ohh!

Even though I'm making
money through pickleball,

I still work.

A lot of people who play

professional pickleball,

they're probably
professional at something else.

They might have a day job.

They might be a lawyer.
They might be a teacher.

AJ Koller!

I remember AJ Koller was living out of his car.

I mean,
not really out of his car, but not far from it,

while he was chasing
the pickleball dream.

I mean, I think it's getting
better and better,

and that's kind of
why I'm in it,

'cause it really, it's changing
a lot of people's lives.

How nervous are you right now?

I'm not nervous.
Pressure is a privilege.

It's over. Game over.

- He's done.
- Ohh!

Even for players
in the top ten,

it's hard to make a living.

We have housing at Dreamland.

They can live there
and train there.

It's important for them
because they're on the road

so much these days.

They're playing
so many tournaments

that I'm trying
to make their lives

a little bit more
financially successful

so that they can continue
to help us grow the sport.

And you got the top players in the world here pretty much.

You know, not myself.

You know, I didn't get
picked in this draft.

I'm more of a singles player.

A lot of these, uh,

a lot of these things
are more focused

on doubles and mixed doubles.

But $100,000 prize, um,

the biggest prize in pickleball.

You know, really excited
to finally, you know,

have somebody, you know,
put the money out there to

get the top players here,
and it's pretty, pretty amazing.

There's
so many good things that are taking place with the sport.

It could be so much bigger.

And I just hope that I'm not

coming into the sport
too early

where I'd miss out on some of
the big money coming in.

Tyson's the guy
you wanna root for every single week.

He's got the tats,
and, you know, the arm sleeve.

He's got all the swag.

This is called flip flops.

These are called ups.

This is called
being a stud.

So I don't know
if I told you this morning,

but I was taking
a shower with Banks.

She was sitting
on the ground.

Next thing I know, there was
something that came out of her.

And I believe she may have
taken a shit in the shower.

I was in there with her.

Just to get my morning started.

A little early morning deuce
in Dad's shower.

When I came to pickleball,
it was about five years ago

and I only had one child,
so it was very different.

I didn't have three other kiddos
to worry about.

You know, we were kinda
crossing our fingers,

I think, for a little bit
and just saying, you know,

gosh, we really hope,
hope this all works out and--

We're investing
so much time, so much effort,

so much energy
and trying to travel

and make this thing work,
but financially,

you know, it didn't make sense
for a couple years

and now it's starting to,
so it's pretty cool.

Tyson's known
to be crowd friendly,

but Ben is often described
as the GOAT.

He had 170 straight wins
in singles.

That's a crazy record.

- And there it is!
- And that's gonna do it.

Ben Johns puts it away!

He's by far
the best in the game.

Ben Johns, the best.

Ben in the last
three, four years

has done some things
that's pretty unprecedented.

Not just in this sport,
in any sport,

to be at the top and to continue
to win and work hard

and doesn't wanna lose.

I mean, that's impressive.

Yeah, you know, it just
comes along with what I got.

So, I'm, uh,
real happy about it.

I have people
bringing me coffee, so it's a good day.

Underway men's doubles.

McGuffin staring in.

Got a touch of the ball here.

Ben Johns and Tyson McGuffin

are very different players.

They have very different style
of their game.

Tyson, he puts in a lot
of effort into every point.

He's always been
kinda competing

and fighting for his spot.

There it is.

Oh.

He doesn't need to be
miked up for the growling.

Ben, on the other hand, is super calm and collected.

You're rarely gonna see
Ben react to a point.

Ben Johns
lurking in the middle,

waiting for
the right opportunity.

His game is very efficient.

Wow. And an 8-3 lead here for Johns and Nunnery.

And then
you have the skill set,

the variety of shots
that Ben has.

And Johns on fire in this match.

That ball stays in.

Johns and Nunnery will hand
the Discovery Warriors

their first loss of this event.

Did not turn out in our favor.

Live to fight
another day though. Back here tomorrow.

Dear Lord, be with the girls today.

Help them to have fun
and keep them safe. Amen.

- Amen.
- Amen.

Who are you cheering for?

Ohh! Let's go!

We've been playing pickleball
for about four years now.

I first heard about pickleball
was my grandfather.

He used to go
and play all the time,

but we didn't really think
much of it until we tried it.

In my previous life,
I was an attorney,

but it got to the point
where we started traveling so much with pickleball,

I decided that I was going
to go inactive as an attorney

and travel the country playing
pickleball with my daughter.

-
Yeah!

Match goes to Leigh Waters

and Anna Leigh Waters.

Another women's
doubles championship.

It's just so cool to be able

to travel with my family
around the country,

getting to do something
that we love.

It makes you like, think about,
like, how lucky you are.

It's more nerve-racking
watching her play

than me playing myself.

You gotta remember, she's 14 years old

and she's playing against
mid 20-year-old,

30-year-old pros.

So it's, um,
there's some nerves there,

but she can handle it.

Out of Delray Beach, Florida,

- Anna Leigh Waters!

Yeah, this is huge tonight.

It's the first ever
Major League Pickleball championship.

So when you think
of legacies,

you wanna win
the first in something.

So, young
Anna Leigh Waters wants it,

and the GOAT, Ben Johns,
on the other side

absolutely wants
to add to his legacy

by winning the first cup.

By many ranking systems,

Anna Leigh Waters
is the number one

female player in the world.

Today in
Major League Pickleball,

she plays up against Ben Johns,

the number one male player
in the world.

Ben Johns
went after Anna Leigh Waters.

She responded in a big way.

Watching them on the court

at the same time is amazing.

Oh-oh. There's another big shot by Anna Leigh Waters.

Kid is an absolute rock star.

You're on the side right here.

Your feet have to be
on almost on this side of the line.

Okay? Because if they are...

- If you can shift...
- Then I got it.

You got it.

What a hand battle. How about that?

When I go into this event, I said there was

three things
that were important to me.

Did the players
have a good time?

Did the fans have a good time?

And did the people
watching it on the air,

do they love it?

- It's in. He's got a...
- Tweener.

Ohh!

Ohh!

I think a lot of people live in a zero-sum world

where they think
that someone else's success is bad for them.

Team BLQK,
they take care of business.

This guy just too much.

I try to fight
zero-sum thinking in my own life,

and I would encourage them
to refresh.

Find joy
in any place you can.

- Yes! Come on!
- Yeah! Come on!

Rob Nunnery.

Biggest moment
in his pickleball life.

When other people
are seeing their dreams happen,

I think it's more likely
that your dreams

are likely
to come true as well.

There it is. Team BLQK.

Rob Nunnery,
Irina Tereschenko,

Ben Johns,
and Andrea Koop,

the first-ever Major League
Pickleball champions.

I believe that the future

for Major League Pickleball
is very bright.

My name is Connor Pardoe,

founder and creator

and current CEO
of the PPA Tour.

The PPA is
the professional tour of pickleball.

So what the PGA may be to golf

or what the ATP
may be to tennis,

the PPA is to pickleball.

So we're the pro tour
where the best players

in the world come and play
over a 52-week period.

The most chaotic person
in pickleball.

That causes me
the most chaos. Jeez.

Um,

you know, I would say
the most chaotic person

in pickleball up to this point
has probably been the PPA Tour.

PPA said, uh,
"The pros don't play when they wanna play.

They play when
we tell them to play."

- You hear that?
- That's the quote.

- That's the quote.
Whoo!

- Whoo! Yeah...
- Dang.

I don't know if anyone
that's ruffled as many feathers,

has pushed the envelope
harder than our group.

Connor Pardoe is a trailblazer

in the sense that he's just,
like, I'm gonna do this tour

and I don't care
what I'm spending.

And I think he comes from
a pretty wealthy family,

so I think there's
deep pockets there to spend.

We're not just throwing money at something.

We wanna be
a profitable business.

And that's what you have
in the PPA tour.

Who knows where
tomorrow's gonna be?

Like, let's just make sure
that we're pushing the envelope

each and every day.

We are talking
professional pickleball

and the momentum
it is gaining

and the money being spent
in this game.

You have
Connor Pardoe of the PPA,

you have Steve Kuhn of MLP

spending large
amounts of money

getting these leagues
off the ground, and they do.

But it catches the attention

of Carolina Hurricanes
owner Tom Dundon.

Tom Dundon comes
from the subprime auto loan background,

made a lot of money there.

Dundon Capital Partners, DCP, led by Tom Dundon,

purchased the PPA,
pickleballtournaments.com

and Pickleball Central. Boom.

He's the owner of the
NHL Carolina Hurricanes.

He was a huge investor
in Topgolf.

Mr. Pardoe will stay on, um,

and help run the league
for the next couple years.

So who is Tom Dundon?

Tom's kind of a mysterious
character to me, honestly.

I've never officially
met Tom Dundon.

I mean, I've met him,
shook his hand.

Um, I don't know
if he remembers me.

I'd like to think he does.

I've never met the guy
in my life,

so I couldn't tell you
anything about him.

Tom Dundon really brought

a unique perspective
on the sport

and how to make it extremely
marketable and profitable.

He really brought
a business element to pickleball.

He really took us
ten years ahead.

I know Tom Dundon
has been involved

in Topgolf, Carvana,

and he owns
the Carolina Hurricanes.

He also was part of, I believe,

of a football league
that did not make it.

I heard there
was some friction

in the dissolving
of that league,

some contracts
that weren't paid.

- Let's go, Tom!
- I like Tom a lot.

I think he's doing
good things for the sport.

I thought he was not the guy

that I think everybody
kind of painted him out to be,

which was like this
evil empire type dude.

He's clearly just elevated it
on the pro level.

He has a rolodex
that I've never quite seen anything like.

I don't think
there's anyone in the world

that he's not at least
two phone calls away from.

Maybe not one phone call,

but if you wanna get
a hold of Justin Bieber,

he's probably
two phone calls away.

When you have somebody
as successful as Tom Dundon,

people stop and they listen.

So this is
where it gets tricky.

Time comes into the sport,

and he wants his top players

to sign exclusive
three-year contracts.

What does that mean?

Well, it means
they have to play the PPA.

Also means
they can't play Steve's MLP.

Now, three years in pickleball
is like how we count dog years.

Things change so quickly
in this sport.

You're out there grinding.

We don't know which tour
is gonna survive.

So at the end of the day,
Steve Kuhn's big dream

for Major League Pickleball
is really in danger.

According to
No Man's Land blog,

uh, the PPA has
secured and signed 22 of the top players

to exclusively play
for the PPA.

So when the contracts came in to these players,

it was one of the most
emotionally taxing times

'cause they were given
very short timelines

to actually sign anything,

uh, let alone review
what was happening.

And they were forced
to make decisions

that were gonna impact
the next few years of their life.

I would say the PPA is

very well known for,
"Here's a contract, sign.

If you don't sign it,
you know, you, you can't play."

I think that created a lot of panic and struggle

for, like, a lot of my friends.

You know, some of them had to

somehow back out
and hire lawyers.

I don't know if that was
quite fair to do to, you know,

people in their 20s who have
no real clue what they're doing.

And you're, you know,

a 50-something-year-old
billionaire

who really has
all the resources.

So players were really
kind of caught in a bind.

You know, if they signed
these exclusive contracts,

well, that means no more MLP.

So ultimately these players,

some of them who lived
at Steve's complex, Dreamland,

left to go sign
with Connor and Tom.

The landscape of pickleball,
it was confusing.

The PPA was definitely ahead.

We had the best players
under contract.

We had the most revenues.

We had the TV deals.

But Major League Pickleball
was an amazing idea

and an amazing format

and something
that is so electric.

Whoo!

So I put Tom Dundon

and Steve Kuhn
together in a room

and tried to work something out,
and it didn't really work.

I think two egos got in the way.

You know, Steve, Steve wanted

to have the best players
in the world

participate in,
in his tournament.

Uh, Tom said,
"What's in it for me?

"I've got these guys
under contract with PPA.

Why should I change
the contract for your benefit?"

That new
Sports Illustrated article.

It's got a lot of heat.
But we're all trying to find our path.

And there's competing tours
and competing hall of fames

and competing certifications
and competing camps.

I mean, honestly,
it goes on and on and on.

We, we need to have
just one outlet.

It was like, screw you,
man, I'm gonna win this.

And Steve said something
that, you know,

"Well, you know,
I'll buy you out."

And Tom said,
"No, no, no, no, I buy you out."

It was kind of over before it even started.

Like, nobody went in

actually wanting to
make anything happen.

It was, it felt like,
more like peacocking.

You're killing me.
You are killing me.

It's probably best that we--
that we move on from that one.

Welcome to
Indian Wells, California,

site of the Margaritaville
USA Pickleball National Championships.

This is the Mecca
of pickleball.

US Championships,
what we call Nationals,

is the longest standing
pro tournament in pickleball.

Um, so I think it's been
going on since 2008, 2009,

like, way before anybody
was really playing the sport.

So it kinda has
that old feel to it,

almost like Wimbledon for
tennis or something like that.

And with today, like,
having two pro tours,

it kinda brings
all the players together.

But I would say pickleball
is organized chaos right now.

You've got this amazing
tide of chaos right here

and a couple people
trying to corral it.

I'd say, embrace the chaos.
Let, let it just rain.

I don't think some people realize

that I am still in school,
and, you know,

I'm still trying to be a kid
at the same time

as I am a professional
pickleball player.

So it can be
really, really challenging.

Somebody called me a fraud,

and I said,
"You're terrible for pickleball

and you're ugly
and get out of here."

Uh, I actually li...
I actually lost that match.

A couple of years ago,
nobody knew who I was at all.

I was not verified on Instagram.
I was a nobody.

And, uh, you know,

now I got that
cool little blue check mark,

which definitely helps.

I'm starting to be spotted
at airports.

I'm getting spotted
at restaurants.

Obviously, like,
when I'm at tournaments

I get, like, bombarded.

I think his, his look helps now.

Yeah, the distinctive
features of the tats

and the mullet
and the mustache.

And I may have got
a new pair of veneers as well,

which, which definitely helps.

Over the last
two or three years,

I think I've been able to, like,

really build a character
and own it.

I think there's a lot of brands
out there that truly love that,

and like the organic message
that I'm trying to send.

One of the more, like,
attractive media pieces

that have been put out
was this Barstool article

naming me the most
electrifying guy in sports.

And, honestly, I can't tell you
how many brands

came knocking on the door
once that thing came out.

Essentially, the article just
made me sound like a legend,

and that's my true image.

I'm trying to be
louder than life.

When we
were growing up,

Tyson looked like a normal,

clean cut,
All-American guy.

No tats, no, no new teeth,
no mullet.

No any of that.

So me and all my friends

and my little sister
had the biggest crush on him.

I'm a huge believer in, like,

if you look good,
you play good

and it's just nice
to have a good smile.

You know, it is.

Whoa! Come on!

First match of the day,
easy work as always, you know.

You are listening to Radio Margaritaville.

We are here joined
by Ryan Sherry.

Ryan, you've been
so instrumental

in kind of building up
this tournament,

in this sport really
over the past couple years.

Tell me about that,
and sort of the growth that you've seen.

People kinda know
what it is now.

I used to, you know,
get an elevator

and meet some girl,
"What are you doing?"

Uh, I couldn't even...
I didn't wanna say pickleball.

I didn't wanna explain.

Um, but now I'm kinda,
you know,

I don't mind
saying it, you know? - Sure.

This is a hobby for me.

I'm not getting sponsorships
'cause I don't want 'em.

You know,
I got responsibility.

My business
Legacy Pro Sports helps

former NFL football players,
post-career.

You know, the disability,

through the
NFL Players Association

is there for them.

They have to go apply.

But only about 10%
of the guys actually get it.

And we're probably about 50%.

I mean, you're dealing
with guys with, you know,

whether it's
child support issues,

whether it's, you know,

coming from, you know,
no family, friends that,

you know, took their money
and invested it in something

that, you know, they didn't
even know what was going on.

That's where we come in.

The Sher Bear, Ryan Sherry.

He is the John Daly
of pickleball.

He's out partying
till all hours of the night.

And you look at him
and you would say,

"This guy is not
a pro pickleball player,"

but he's one of the best
singles players in the world.

Ryan Sherry is a legend.

It pisses me off that he is
three steps faster than me.

What a shot from Sherry.

And three levels smarter.

And he looks like a fat troll.

Championship point.

And it's the backhand
that does it for Sherry.

He is a champion.

I also believe
that he's been

one of the most
important people in the sport.

He's been a huge connector.

For brands such as
the PPA, and ESPN, MLP.

He is a mad man
with a huge heart.

Who's ready for some ladies pro doubles?

I'm watching one of
closest friends, Parris Todd,

um, love the girl to death.

She's been there for me,
been there for her.

We both won
our first tournaments the same week.

Parris Todd!

Parris Todd, she's one of the new crop of players

coming into the sport
that's looking at pickleball

as a professional career.

Loves pushing
the fashion envelope

in the pickleball world,
which I think is needed.

I don't think I'd look good
in anything she wears,

so, you know, darn.

Um...

But definitely one to watch.

My name is Parris Todd.

I am currently ranked top 15

in every single division
in pickleball right now.

I have been on this journey
for about a year now.

I originally started, I was
a professional tennis player.

Trying to kill the ball.

I turned pro
when I was 14 years old,

so I was touring
all over the world

with both my parents.

Mexico City.

Go, Parris Todd.

What do you have
to say to your fans?

What do you gotta say?

Oh, no, you're gonna
get her started.

We don't wanna go there.

"Was Parris rebellious?"

Okay, so I had to read books
on the strong-willed child.

Where are you going?

It's like you weren't there when
she lit her bedroom on fire.

You weren't there...
Like, I could go on and on.

Even her piano teacher had her
by the neck and dropped her off

at our doorstep and said,
"She's unteachable."

You weren't there when
she got kicked out of school.

I mean...

When she was seven years old,

the very first day when
I took her to Bollettieri,

I woke her up in bed
with a camera.

- Hi.
Yeah.

You know,
you talk about manifest.

You know,
she was already trained

then, "I'm a world champion."

And that wasn't our goal.

That was never our intention.

All we did,
me and Angela, as parents

was just fostered that
and encouraged that and just,

you know, started to do
the things that we knew

that we needed to do
to build a champion.

I think after playing
about six months,

I really started to have,
like, a little bit of success

in some singles wins.

Parris Todd
with a championship point.

Parris Todd!

A major victory over
the great Anna Leigh Waters.

For me,
being a professional athlete,

it's also about my brand

and building, you know, myself.

Ohh!

Well, congratulations.

Parris Todd, Lauren Stratman,
moving on to the second round.

Parris said this, I asked her, "What is your goal?"

That's what I asked Parris.

"What is your goal
for the first year?"

She said, "I wanna make
a million dollars."

I said, "Okay."

Alright, big news,
Tom is sitting pretty.

He's got all the players
wrapped up.

Um, Steve's kinda
hung out in the wind.

He doesn't have anybody,
so he's gotta think of a way

that he can get back
into the game.

And he pulls a rabbit
out of his hat.

He basically gets
celebrity investors

like Tom Brady,
LeBron James, and Drew Brees

to buy MLP teams.

A massive number
of celebrity and pro athletes

are investing in,
yes, pickleball,

including Kevin Love,
Tom Brady, and LeBron James.

I'm super excited to announce

that I'm officially joining
the MLP family, pickleball.

Let's go.

♪ It's about to be a problem ♪

♪ Yeah, we on fire,
better not try us ♪

♪ 'Cause we gon' run it up
when we touchdown ♪

If you're gonna raise money
to try and build the next big sport,

who better to invest
than athletes

who, you know, have been
at the highest level.

Someone like LeBron
is buying a team,

shit is pretty real!

So now
he's back in the game

and all the players
really wanna play MLP,

so they're the ones really
putting the pressure on Tom.

But Tom's not a guy
to just sit around.

So what does he do?

He starts his own

celebrity-invested team league.

He calls it VIBE.

Um, I don't know
if I wanna talk about VIBE.

You really want me
to talk about it?

I will if you really want me to.

Okay. Um...

VIBE Pickleball
was our opportunity

to launch our own
team league.

Whether we liked it or not,
we had somebody

coming to us every week
wanting to buy a team,

even though we didn't do that.

And we were gonna
bring in Mark Cuban

and Larry Fitzgerald
and Michael Phelps.

I'm really close with Tom Dundon.

And, you know, he was talking
about the VIBE group,

if I had any interest in it.

And I said, "Absolutely, I would
love to be a part of it."

Reached out to Michael Phelps
and talked to Devin Booker.

VIBE team owner Mark Cuban is in attendance right now.

Everybody seems
to love pickleball these days.

We came up
with the taglines,

we got the T-shirts,
we got the players promoting it,

we got
celebrity owners involved.

Was VIBE ever gonna launch?
I... It's hard to believe so.

I mean, they have the hoodies,
they have the hoodies.

So that makes it
a business, right?

VIBE, I believe was
the greatest marketing ploy

that pickleball has ever seen.

I think it was really just
T-shirts with the logo VIBE.

Again, I'm gonna, I'm gonna
pass on that one too.

I'm gonna go,
I'm gonna go 0-for-2 on that.

So who knows if VIBE
was an actual league

or a negotiating tactic.

Either way, it got
Steve back to the table

and force a merger of sorts.

And these two rivals
now were becoming partners.

What could possibly go wrong?

I don't know
that the merger makes sense

from a personality standpoint.

If you're having
a lot of trouble

discussing major issues
when you're dating,

it's probably not
a great idea to get married.

We all have egos.
I'm sure Tom Dundon has one.

I'm sure I have one.

When I looked at
the situation calmly,

I thought this was better
for the goals

that I originally did this,
to have the merger.

It was better for the sport.

Uh, it was better to
bring more people to the game.

Uh, better for the pro players.

This was the right thing to do.

So now that Tom's players

in the PPA could play MLP,

the PPA used that time
and opportunity

to sign more players
to contracts.

This really wasn't
Steve's ethos

about telling players
what to do.

He wanted players to be able
to chase their dreams

wherever they
wanted to do that.

Alright, we are back for
another Kitchen conversation.

This week we have
the hottest name

on the Tour of Pickleball,
Parris Todd.

Parris is definitely the talk of the pro circuit right now,

as she's the only
top pro player

who has refused to sign
the PPA MLP contract.

Good. Yeah. Perfect.

Eyes up here. Eyes up, eyes up.

We offered her a very good deal,

and it was a very, I think,
generous and fair deal,

but that doesn't mean
that she can't think something different.

Parris is asking
for ridiculous money.

You can't ask
for $350,000 a year

from an organization
who's not even making that in profit each year.

What do we think about Parris Todd holding out?

For whatever her reasons are,
she chose not to,

and she chose
not to put herself in the draft.

Um, whether it was money
or whether it was exclusivity,

whatever, I don't know.

I like Parris, but I think

she's overvalued herself
as a player.

Beautiful. Good.

I don't know
what's going on there.

She's a tough cookie.

I'll tell you what,
I think she wants a set figure.

So it's gonna be interesting
to see what takes place there.

When you're doing something

that is different
from other people,

there's always gonna be
people that step in

and that will say things,
and gossip goes around.

And especially in pickleball,
it's such a small world.

They think that I'm crazy

and think I'm asking
for way too much.

And it's not easy to hear

the gossip that goes on
behind the scenes

and people not agreeing
with what I'm doing.

But if I don't stand up,
then who is gonna do it?

Right. And I totally
admire you for that.

Lord, I thank You
and I come into agreement

and I pray for all the sponsors

and all those who are
sitting on the fence

and thinking about it.

I ask, Lord,
that You would increase

their portfolios exponentially,
Lord God,

that it would just be
a drop in the bucket for them

to wanna be
a part of this organization

and this industry
that's booming.

And I thank You, Lord,
for my child.

I thank You, Lord, that You have
given her supernatural strength.

- Golden goose.
- The golden goose.

- Yeah, baby.
- Her ability, her agility.

Lord, I thank You
that You will rise her

to places of great expectation.

And we put it
under the blood of Jesus.

And we give You all the praise,
all the honor,

and all the glory.

- And Parris said...
- Amen.

- Amen!
- Anything you wanna add?

Um, I just, Lord,
I just pray over the players.

Only You know
where the sport is going.

Only You know where You wanna
put each of Your children.

We're here in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

We have the MLP draft,
which is so incredible.

We have the top players in
the world here getting drafted,

and, uh, there's also just
an event going on here,

and they're bringing in
four professional tennis players

in a team-style tournament
this weekend.

We have the best of the best.
Everyone's here.

Especially the players
that couldn't play last year

that now with the merge
are able to play.

I'm really excited 'cause I didn't get to play last year.

I think all of us PPA players
saw how much fun it was,

so we're happy to be able
to join for next year.

We're in Las Vegas right now for the MLP draft.

Well, I can't play.

Hopefully, I can
get drafted for MLP.

But the system
is based upon analytics,

but they're not based
upon intangibilities.

I mean, Tim Tebow,
great quarterback,

safe to say had the best
fourth quarter QBR rating

in the history of football.

But he was terrible
in other quarters.

So if you were gonna, you know,
draft him based on statistics,

well, he's not there.

Eli Manning, not there.

But Eli Manning
is a Hall of Famer.

I'm a Hall of Famer.

Safe to say based upon
what I've done,

the people I've beaten,
but I'm not used to

playing people
six hours a day

and then go play
a 23-year-old, you know?

I mean, Heidi Klum,
she's not used to

going and running,
you know, a marathon

than going to the runway.

She needs her time
to prepare.

You know, I'm not saying
I'm Heidi Klum,

but I need time to prepare.

In the last year,

the valuation
of our MLP team

has increased
from the low $200,000

to north of
five million dollars.

Here we go. Here we go.

The MLP, when I started,

the teams were on
for $100,000.

And once PPA
and MLP joined up,

it started to go up
to around three to six million,

is the numbers I heard.

And, you know, in five years

I could easily see
that trend continuing

and it could be
upwards of 20 million.

Like everything in our culture right now,

valuations just go up like crazy
because of a feeling.

Well, what's wild to me is
I've had people call me,

who, you know,
have a lot of money,

and when they tell me
the valuation

that they're talking about now,

which I have no idea
what's it's true or not,

it's about eight times
what I'm in at.

Would I invest
in a pickleball team at $5 million?

No, 'cause it's like Starbucks.

Why didn't I know?
It's like Uber.

Why didn't I know?
It's too late for me.

I've had a couple
that I got in early on,

so I missed pickleball.

It's almost impossible
to explain

why pickleball has taken off
the way that it did,

but clearly people
respond well to it

and they're willing to pay
large amounts of money for it.

And some of the players
are making a lot of money.

♪ I'm an all star
in every sport ♪

♪ Bases loaded
we run it full court ♪

♪ It's a touchdown
you better press record ♪

♪ I'm a champion with rings
but I need more ♪

♪ I'm an all star
in every sport ♪

♪ Bases loaded
we run it full court ♪

First of all, how do you value a pro pickleball player?

At the moment it's like,

what's their following
on Instagram?

Like, how many ads
can they be in?

'Cause I don't really think
it's based on who's winning.

Most of the hard work
is done off the court,

like not just with
training and stuff,

but, like, you know,
contracts and interviews

and, you know,
stuff like that.

I'm Anna Leigh Waters

and I'm pumped to be
the new Lock Laces athlete.

I'm sponsored by Fila.

You know, Fila is
an international company.

So it's just been, like,
really amazing to see

how pickleball has grown
as like I've kind of grown with it.

When you have
any large amount of money

being thrown around,
that's amazing for pickleball.

It's amazing for the pros.

There's really nobody
that loses, that's for sure.

You have
people making, like,

$150,000, $200,000 a year
on paddle deals.

For sure Ben Johns
is selling product.

His paddles are the best.

Joola is getting their worth
of whatever they paid Ben.

Anytime I need
to fuel my performance,

Pickle Fuel is what gets me
to that next level.

More money comes in,
more fame comes in.

I mean, it's life.
More money, more problems.

I think Puff Daddy said it.
Biggie or whoever.

"Mo Money Mo Problems."
It was Puffy, right?

Mase?
Good outfits, weren't they?

You have Skechers deals
worth 250 plus.

Hi, I'm Tyson McGuffin,

and I'm a Skechers Elite
professional pickleball player.

When I first started
this back in 2016,

I thought there was
no way in hell

I was gonna be in a position

where I could
just play full-time

and be like
a full-time athlete.

Back to center court here at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

So I'm expecting more intense
women's doubles action here.

What a point!
Now, that's the kinda point that can spark a little fire

and get the MO
going the other way.

Oh, yeah.

So I'm the observer.

I'm the narrator.
I sort of... what I'm seeing.

He is sort of an expert

and, uh, he knows
what he's talking about.

And so he can provide
that color and analysis.

And I sort of...

I'm great for, I think,
for the, for the new eye.

Yeah. And there's,
there's good banter.

We just say whatever we want,
and, uh--

- It's really relaxed.
- It's great.

I heard it was, like, seven million people

are watching this tournament
here from Las Vegas

on the Tennis Channel,

like, maybe seven and a half
million people.

Oh, sorry. Wait a minute,
that was thousand.

Seven thousand people are...

Not a lot.

Wow.

Tereschenko did
a great job there

of holding that
outside forehand dink and...

There's not that
many people watching the sport.

So until there's
more viewership,

people are basically,
like, betting on a promise.

And it's kind of
like a scary thing...

'cause that could
eventually fall.

I think we're
in the midst of a bubble

that is frothing right now.

There's just no way

a lot of us are worth
what we're getting paid.

My first check in 2020
was for $250.

That didn't even cover
my entry fees, anything.

Now it's like you get paid
to go to the tournament.

Prize money is going up.

I always wanna be
optimistic about it,

but the average sports fan
is not gonna tune in

and watch me dink
and win a firefight.

Like, my own father doesn't
watch some of my matches

'cause he just thinks
it's too boring.

This isn't the NBA
where they're making millions off of us.

They've self-admitted.

They're making
nothing off of us.

The first pick
in the 2023

Major League Pickleball draft,

the New Jersey 5s
select Anna Leigh Waters.

I almost compare the PPA and MLP

and what they're doing to,
to like raising venture capital

as an early stage startup

where, you know,
you're not really making money,

but you just are pumping in
so much and elevating it

to where, you know,
it has inherent value

until they do make money.

As an accountant, I think going through their books

would just be crazy.

MLP-PPA merger,
we're about to see

the best of the best compete
against each other next year.

How cool is that
for the sport?

Yeah, I'm super excited.

I have a theory because of the MLP and PPA merger,

once they come together
and they have all the players,

they're not gonna
pay us anymore.

I'm not gonna get
an appearance fee

to show up to a tournament

where they are not seeing
any profit return on.

Like, see ya, kick rocks,
you know.

Something that just got thrown our way,

this bubbly team event
taking place this weekend.

My set guarantee to show up
was supposed to be 40.

I was told last week
that it's now five.

Uh, typical pickleball bullshit,
if you know what I mean.

Another prime example.

We were all supposed
to stay at Mandalay Bay.

We were told
the week of the event

that we're all being
moved to.

My wife contacted
the PPA and said,

there was no way
we're staying at. That place looks like

it's been chewed up
and spit out and stomped on.

And, yes, we are heading
in the right direction

and the PPA tour seems like
it's the right tour

and there's plenty of longevity,

but there's just
a lot of red flags

that, that comes with it,
if you know what I mean.

Apparently a bunch
of wealthy people have

decided that,
that this is like a game

that they sort of can control
what's going on

as far as, you know,
having their sort of little hobby,

uh, that they can potentially
make money off of

is the way I see it.

You know, I find it strange

that they are asking people
to pay a lot of money,

like my friend Kim Clijsters,
who I love,

I go, "Where's your team?"

"I don't know.
It's gonna be something."

Well, shouldn't that, you know,
when you're investing in a team,

I would think it would matter
a little bit where it is.

But apparently it's so big
that it doesn't matter.

It could be up in a cloud
and you can make millions.

You have this
interesting phenomenon

where athletes
from other sports

who are going to retire,
move into the pickleball arena.

You're gonna have
tennis players

who made it
to the highest levels.

Like a John Isner
or a Jack Sock.

They will be able to have
a longer shelf life

on a pickleball court.

Right here at Tennis Channel
we had Andrea Petkovic,

who was one
of the great tennis players of the modern age,

and we said,
"Well, what do you think of pickleball?"

And she said, "Well,
I think it's a great game."

I said,
"Well, but tennis is a sport."

And we said,
"Well, what's the difference?"

And she said, "Well, a game
is something you can play

while you're drinking."

I don't think the best
players in the world

are drinking a cocktail

while they're playing
at the highest level.

I will bring the rum
to our matches and anybody,

if they need some,
give 'em a little shot.

They play better.
I've tested it.

In pickleball,
if you're a really good athlete

there's a fair chance
that, you know,

you could be competitive
in this game.

Will Jack Sock be better
than Ben Johns?

That's an interesting twist
that hasn't really existed

with any other sport
in a very meaningful way.

Michael Jordan
found out he wasn't

a professional
baseball player, right?

Even though
if anyone could transfer,

you, you would have thought
it would have been him.

I don't know if LeBron's
going to pickleball after this,

but, you know,
seeing Sam Querrey

going from
the tennis circuit to this

is just unbelievable.

finals,.

You look like you're
400 years old with that on.

In this respect,
I think it's more

of an extension
of their careers.

They're getting to the point

where they're not
gonna train for tennis

and put their bodies
through everything

that tennis requires.

-
No.

At the beginning of the year my ranking was dropping.

I wasn't enjoying
tennis as much,

and then ultimately, I had a...

I tore the tendon
in my elbow here,

and I'm honestly happy
that I tore the tendon.

It kind of helped me
make the decision to retire.

Oh, any top tennis player that came in

and thinks they could
just play the next week?

Singles,
maybe they can come over

and they can compete
fairly quickly.

Maybe give 'em
six months or so.

Game translates
a little bit better.

Playing doubles pickleball

is like going from
checkers to chess.

Nice. Let's go,
let's go right here.

The part I really
don't like is when they started

to make it seem like it's
harder or better than tennis.

I'm like... no.

I think the best
pickleball player would be someone

who's like, five feet tall
but extremely long arms.

The top five male tennis player in the world

would come over
and lose to Anna Leigh Waters.

Without a doubt, I'll bet
everything I have on it.

It's a battle of the sexes.

We've got Anna Leigh Waters
and Jessie Irvine

playing Jack Sock
and John Isner.

Can the tennis stars show us
what they've learned?

This is a Bobby Riggs type of situation here.

And a gorgeous ATP from Jessie Irvine.

Look how much fun
John Isner is having.

He's jawing away on Twitter.

"Yeah, my team's gonna win.

This is only about
who's gonna get second place."

Oh, get up, Jack Sock. Oh, no.

Ooh!

I think tennis players are realizing

it's not the step down thing.

Pickleball is... difficult.

We are on Tennis Channel and Isner and Sock have love.

Very hard to control the pace of play.

So they're all
learning that.

Oh, and he goes tweener into the net.

With anything
work hard enough at it,

you know you can get good,
but they're not the same.

- Ooh!
- Look at Sock hustle.

This is a different team here from Isner and Sock.

These guys are on fire
right now.

Look at Sock
pull that down the line.

And Sock is coming
for Anna Leigh Waters.

I mean,
Jack Sock is really good.

And if you know Jack,
you've seen him play tennis.

He was eighth
in the world in singles.

He's won multiple
Grand Slam titles in doubles

and that translates
over to pickleball.

ATP from Jack Sock!

Who saw a third game
in this coming?

Not one soul.

And Jack Sock
speeds it up down the middle.

But look at her
blast the big man.

I think all the other pickle players there

wanted the girls
to beat them to prove, like,

hey, there's a big difference

between, like,
the top pickle players

and these tennis players
that came in.

Drama building here.

It's seven-eight.

And those hands of Sock.

Pressure was
on the girls to win that.

As a tennis player,
I absolutely loved it.

And they have done it!

Sock, Isner
lose game one 11-0

and come roaring back
to win 11-9.

The tennis world
is probably crowing right now

because John Isner
and Jack Sock

beat Jessie Irvine
and Anna Leigh Waters,

which I didn't see coming,
nobody saw coming.

It's not about, like,
this is going to be a sport

where it's gonna
bypass tennis,

and, um, it's gonna become

one of the biggest sports
in the world or something.

I would find
that laughable, honestly.

As more and more money pours into the sport,

seems to be gaining
a lot of attention from people,

the MLP draft
basically had a few surprises.

Hardly any of the celebrity
ownership showed up.

Tyson really wasn't
drafted all that high.

And, Parris,
well, she opted out completely

and basically nobody
watched on television.

So the future of
professional pickleball

hangs in the balance.

I mean, pickleball is fun.

We got into it
because it was fun.

You have a blast,

and, yes, it's competitive,

but I think people now
are seeing it as a job.

Who's that?

Pro pickleball
has definitely changed in the last five years,

and I think it's gonna
continue to change.

How's the event going?

Yeah? How many people
do we have here?

Will you say hello
to my husband?

Just say hello, Joe.

- It's the wrong way around.
- Yeah, you're right.

Hi, Joe. I heard you're
leaving your wife for me.

No, he's not.

- That was cute.
- Of course.

You know,
I'm always thinking of,

for me, life after pickleball.

I'm not stupid enough
to know that my shelf life

is gonna last forever.

Hey, how are ya?

We've seen the evolution
of pro sports before.

We know that path
that it's gonna take.

It can either be
smooth or bumpy,

depending on, on the entities
that are in the pro space

and how they decide to play nice
in the sandbox or not.

I hope none of that gets into
the amateur recreational space

because it is
a phenomenal space,

and if that keeps going,

then pickleball will survive.

- Thank you.
- Great to have you guys here.

Thanks for coming.
What do you think? Maybe?

- Thank you.
- Good luck, folks.

The APP tour was a vision

that I came up with
back in spring of 2019.

My whole goal was to provide
a great experience

that all players
can benefit from,

regardless of
what their playing ability is.

Your check for super senior
is up with Dana,

up at the information desk.
I already wrote it yesterday.

If people wanna label us
as a minor league tour,

I suggest they come out there

and put their paddle in a hand

and go out there and see

if they can win
an APP Tour stop.

Let's go.
Come on, Parris.

I think right now the sport is in the unique phase

where the pros and the amateurs
are still at the same venue.

There it is, right there.
Come on.

Nice, Parris.

It's just so unique

that you
can run into a Parris Todd

at the lunch truck
while you're an amateur player

and get a chance
to meet with them.

William. Whoo!

The sport
is still in a phase

where the pros
are still very approachable.

Let's go!

Good game, guys. Come on.

It's good, good to be tested.

Why did Parris not sign the PPA MLP contract?

- Here we go.
- It's a good question.

Come on!

There's a lot
of misconceptions about Parris

and the road she's taking.

And you read
the social media feeds like,

"Oh, she overvalued herself

and she doesn't know
what she's doing."

What's, what's wrong
with being very valuable?

It's like, that's what
we raised you to be, valuable.

A lot of people said
she asked for too much money.

It was never about
money from the leagues.

The leagues offered her
a lot of money.

It was about the obligations
and the restrictions.

I mean, she's literally
hitting it so freakin' hard.

Main restriction was

that you could only play
PPA tournaments.

If you're only playing
on one league,

then you limit your
eyeballs that you're gonna be able to have.

So why don't you just go back
and renegotiate the deals?

You don't like
the restrictions, negotiate it.

There was a time period
put on that.

It's unfortunate the way
that it all got set up with the merger,

that PPA also controlled MLP.

So she basically
got shut out of the MLP

because she wouldn't do that.

And that was part
of the power play I think.

Yes!

You gotta have
an entrepreneurial mindset

where it's like, I'm not just
gonna take a paycheck.

I'm gonna go make
my own paycheck,

and I'm gonna make paychecks
for other people as well too.

- You know, roll the dice.
- That's exactly what we did.

Congratulations
punching your ticket

to Championship Sunday, so...

That's our encouragement
for her.

Go be you
and go fly like the eagle.

Don't be a chicken on the farm.

It's hard to believe
that nearly two years ago,

we had the first MLP event.

It was pretty amateur,
like, you know,

Steve was worried about
his league even staying around

'cause Tom was really
controlling all the top players.

And, you know,
look where we are now.

Both leagues are thriving.

And this, you know,
supposed merger,

things are looking
pretty optimistic

for professional pickleball.

♪♪

I think the relationship
between PPA and MLP

is actually going better
than people might have thought,

including probably myself,
to be honest.

Let's go, Pioneers.

And I think that could have massive impacts

on making
the sport more popular.

I think there are about

three to five brand names
in the sport

who really matter
and lend credibility

to any of the events
that they're playing.

Yeah!

I think you have Ben Johns,

you have Anna Leigh,
you have Tyson,

and then you could argue
a couple of more,

but I don't think
that any of them

are on the level of those three.

Stars in the world today dictate what happens.

So the question is
Anna Leigh, Ben Johns,

do they become bigger
than the game?

Um, we'll find out.

Yeah!

Who wins and loses in this situation,

like, I think the players
were waiting for a long time

'cause we had the APP,
we had MLP, and PPA,

and Steve and Tom were just

in direct competition
with each other.

So you could go here
and get this offer

and you could go here,
and then you could go here.

Now that they've merged,

we've kind of lost
all of our powers.

Once the players are bought up,
there's no bidding war anymore.

Steve Kuhn makes me feel
a little bit better about it.

Come on!

Because I really
do feel like he truly loves it.

And he will stick
through it thick and thin.

But we need to form
some kinda coalition

or something like that.

We have to have
some standards.

Alright, guys,
I like pickleball,

like, as much
as the next person.

I'm loving it.
I love playing these tournaments.

The only problem is they have
no locker rooms at these events.

So I just pulled into
a truck stop

that has, like,
showers and stuff.

I sacrificed the Filas.

There was zero shot
I was touching

the floor in this place.

Alright.
First-ever truck stop shower complete.

Uh, and I got out alive,
most importantly.

There's no parking for the pro players.

Whereas PPA, MLP,
there's always... - Yeah.

We've been walking
an average of

probably a mile
and a half a day

just because we've had
to park up the hill.

We're all kinda getting hosed to a certain degree.

And now we're all
under contract,

and we may be getting used
and abused a little bit

and it shouldn't
be taking place.

So something needs to be done.

You know,
there's a lot of things that you could change.

You're talking about
having 401s,

but there's no ice
at tournaments.

I mean, come on,
like, let's,

you know,
let's start with the basics.

Let's go!

Now they're only down five, anything is possible.

Since this last MLP, you had players

who had
their airfare covered,

their housing, whether it was
hotel or a house,

their rental car,
their food costs covered.

And there were players
that had to pay their way.

So, unfortunately,
sometimes players are losing money.

From a pro pickleball
standpoint,

I think that needs to change.

Championship point.

- Yeah!
- Seattle Pioneers

will take their second
straight championship

in the first ever
MLP Championship Dreambreaker.

♪ I was scared of snakes ♪

♪ I was getting nervous ♪

♪ But I learned they had
a vital role to play ♪

♪ A little understanding
goes a long way ♪

Breaking news.

The merger is off.

It's bloodbath in pickle land.

Connor has said that he knew
something was up

because everything was great,
on the up and up,

and then all of a sudden
he gets...

Like, he's not hearing
from them anymore.

Thursday,
it breaks that MLP

is going to go off
on their own,

and they're no longer gonna
do the deal with the PPA.

And they're signing top players.

And, yep,
and all of a sudden...

Yeah, they're essentially, they're signing top players.

It's PPA versus MLP.

It's become this crazy divide.

It was an arms race,
but here's what's wild.

The owners of MLP
did not know about this.

They had no clue
that Steve Kuhn had done this.

We're talking to players,
they want confidentiality.

We're talking to agents,
they want confidentiality.

We're trying to be
effective in signing

as many players as we can.

We are, we are walking down
a high-wire and--

We're actually,
we're sprinting on a high-wire.

We were told specifically
and directly

that they had no interest
in ever, you know,

reaching anywhere
near the amount

that we paid our players.

Yes.

It was a non-binding
memorandum of understanding,

a non-binding MoU.

And we didn't succeed
in closing that deal

right after it was written.

In that time,
the world changes.

Yeah?

Is that removing Tom
or is that removing Connor?

I think Tom's problem is
there's probably something

in the PPA purchase that
requires him to keep Connor,

at least for a certain
period of time.

Steve has talked to his father multiple times

over the last few days.

He hasn't asked
for a specific offer.

He hasn't asked for a specific offer.

We don't wanna, like,
throw out a number

that they're just gonna, like,
take back, shop, counter.

Riley would be like
a diamond, man.

- Yeah.
- You know he brings Ben.

Ben should be with us anyway.

This will be a career.
He'll be a CEO someday.

He should be a part of what you are doing.

He should be part of that.

We got some more work to do here.

Uh, many of the players
have signed with us.

We'd like to sign all of 'em.

We've got a lot of yeses.

We've had a lot of,
you know, very close so far,

not signed, but very close.

We have zero, uh, people
who've said no.

Major League Pickleball
threw a huge offer Ben's way.

Uh, but with the expectation
that he likely would not take it.

But what are they asking?

Like, we'll fix it,
so she's always number one?

- We can't do that.
- No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no.

Some sort of point system
or some sort of...

Right.

We've got a couple of options on the table, guys, okay?

One would be, you know,

taking partial ownership
of an existing team.

Like, for example,
she could take,

you know, I'm gonna
regret saying this.

She could take my stake
in the Florida Smash.

She gets a third of a team,

mark-to-market
$3.5 million right now.

If we use
a bazooka right now,

we might be able to
get her and win this thing,

and it would actually
may be symbolic

coming from the CEO
to give up his stake.

I mean, again,
that's a $10 million gift then.

That's, that's a lot.
That's two bazookas.

I know
MLP gave Anna Leigh,

literally, we'll call it
an FU deal.

Like, here, let's throw
just absolute crazy money

and see if she bites.

These are real pro athlete numbers now.

Yeah, Anna Leigh
and Parris Todd and Lea Jansen,

that's, that's, that's
a knockout.

It's just, it's just
Catherine on her own

hitting the ball
against the wall.

We got Parris Todd,
I don't know if you know that.

Sure.

Yeah. More,
more than average.

While we were on here,
I just got a notification that Parris signed MLP.

That's big.

If Parris signed,
I think we'd expect

Hunter and Yates to follow.

And probably Simone.

Let's go. Yes.

Tyson McGuffin's deal
was two years.

What do you guys think
he was getting for two years?

It was one million
for two years.

I just don't know
if it was a mil a year

or if it was a mil
over two years.

I mean, this has been
36 hours straight,

pretty much like this.

But, uh,
we're coming at this

from the perspectives
of the athletes first.

And, you know,
are we gonna get ripped

by some of our
owners and investors

for having, you know,

gone too far
in some of these contracts?

Yeah, that's the next fight.

That's the next fight.
That's coming.

Right now, I'm just
feeling exhaustion, to be honest.

But I think I've run out
of emotions for the day.

I had a lot yesterday
and a lot earlier today,

but right now
I'm just kind of at peace.

I think we're...
Yeah, I know what we're trying to do

and what, what we're
hoping to accomplish,

and I know how great
it's gonna be.

I hope you know,
Ben and Anna Leigh

will, will join us
on this journey.

Uh, our goal
would be, you know, working with them

and all the other
great players on MLP

to show more people
how amazing this sport is.

I feel like just
in the last 48 hours

of, of these negotiations,

I mean, I feel like
we literally just witnessed

the professionalization
of this sport.

You know me,
I'm at, I'm at every event

watching every point.

By the way,
I'm watching the,

I'm watching
the PPA right now.

Like, this is what I do.

We hear that
there's a lot of burnout.

I mean, this, this tour
has been a grind for them.

You know,
they have a great run.

They're on the court
for 12 hours

for three days in a row,

and even if
they win everything, win the championship,

they're on a plane
four days later.

Uh, it's a grind and,
and it's burning 'em out.

It's burning out their bodies.
It's burning 'em out.

I mean, it's burning out
fans interest, to be honest.

It just feels like
the right thing to do for the sport.

Last time
I asked you this question you wouldn't answer it.

So we're gonna try again.

Tell me about your relationship
with Tom Dundon.

I don't have much of
a relationship with Tom Dundon, to be honest.

I've only met him...

I only met him in person, I...

I wanna say once. Right?

I've never
spoken to him in my life.

Not even on an email.

I think I met him
in person once.

So not much of a relationship,
to be honest.

And, uh, what about Connor Pardoe?

Funny,
fun, fun questions.

- Yeah...
- Don't say anything.

Yeah.

Uh... Wow.

Uh, it's the story of...

people absolutely
falling in love

with something that they
never thought they would, for most of 'em.

I mean, you never thought you'd
fall in love with pickleball.

Yeah,
but that's not the story.

The story is...

No, the story is about
a guy with a dream.

And he's,
and he's manifested it...

- Well, that's nice.
- ...just through

10,000 hours
of finding something he loved.

This is, you know,
his, his, his second mountain that he found.

And he's, uh, you know,
he found a sport that he loved

and changed it
into something even better

and, you know, made it,
made it what it is now,

and it's, it's, it's amazing.

It's, it's almost killed him
several times in the process.

You're laughing,
but you know I'm right.

That's, that's
almost not a joke. - It's not a joke.

It's almost killed you
several times in the process.

- But...
- Yeah.

You know,
you're doing it for the love

and now you're doing it for,

to make it better
for the players and...

- and you're almost there.
- Yeah.

I can't imagine these players
ever anticipated

making this type of money.

All the players I talked to,

they assumed that pickleball
would get to this level,

but it was the next generation

that was gonna
reap the reward.

So, Anna Leigh, three mil for,
for three years, she was given.

She asked for 48 hours
to decide.

She ends up going with the PPA.

Tyler said that Ben signed
a three-year deal,

but PPA's announcement
was only a one-year deal.

Yeah, right.

So I think
that's interesting too,

'cause if it is
only a one-year deal...

you know, Ben's a free agent
after next year.

What is the likelihood
that these two entities

smooth it over
once again at some point?

And I know
that doesn't seem, like,

possible or feasible
in this moment.

But again, you know, especially
when big money is involved,

it seems like
cooler heads prevail.

You know, Kuhn doesn't have as much control, right?

He is one of five board seats.

Dundon is one of five
board seats.

Uh, and Pardoe is
not on that board.

So, you know, Steve and Pardoe
can't, you know,

turn the guns on each other
and blow this thing up again.

Now players
can train full-time.

They can wrap themselves
around good people.

Uh, they can use resources,
body work,

trainers, coaches,
you know...

- Recovery.
- They have a little extra dough now.

So, definitely invest
your money the right way.

Every player that has
worked their butts off,

or that has been here
for the last few years or more,

like, time is now.

But a lot of people
fail to realize

the economics behind this.

The economics behind MLP

is that at the moment,
they were not profitable

or even making money.

They were losing a lot of money.

Steve decides to...

I don't wanna use the word,
"pull a fast one,"

but Steve decides to move
the goalposts one more time.

You know, we need money.
We need to sell a team.

- Mm-hmm.
- Is my understanding.

And they were like, well,
selling another team now

goes against the terms
of the new merger.

Yeah.

And at that point,

several members
that are on the MLP board

were like, "Dude, we're out.
We're over this. We're out."

The next day, Steve, basically,

I think he has
a little bit of a,

we'll call it a, come to Jesus
meeting with himself. - Uh-huh.

Realizes that maybe
he's finally lost, you know,

his last allies
within the MLP

and he releases
a statement.

Sleeves here with your
Senior Pickleball Report.

Let's get it going.

Steve Kuhn resigns.
What happened?

I mean, they were just
dominating, you know,

in the war room,
signing all these players.

And at the end of the day,
you know,

he resigns with a letter?
What went wrong?

Well, I think he got caught up
in a bidding war

and he really lost, you know,
control of the situation

and the trust and faith
of his shareholders

by really trying
to raise more capital

by selling
other MLP franchises,

and intentional or not,

it started to feel
and maybe look

a little like a Ponzi scheme.

So, at the end of the day,

he didn't get Ben or Anna Leigh,

which who knows
the impact of that.

And, you know, he's ousted by
the very league that he created.

A lot of people
sort of think of Steve Kuhn

as the ideologue
in this story.

I'm curious, in your
past business experience

what might make
an ideologue fall short?

Everybody has this dream

of what things can
become or this idea,

and there's
a big difference

between ideas and execution.

And I probably focus
more on the execution

and feel like
if you execute every day

and do things a certain way,

the outcome
should be certain.

But if you start
with the outcome

and you expect people
to treat you

as if you've already
accomplished the things

that we had not
in pickleball accomplished,

then you don't get
taken seriously

and you probably fail.

Um, so I just think we...

I just go about it different.

I think in recent weeks
there was merger,

then there wasn't,
then there is.

Um, and so that, that part

has been, uh,

maybe a little emotional
and a little traumatic,

but the end is...

the end is everybody
should be focused

on how do we continue

to elevate the game
and grow the sport.

And it feels like
that's where it's headed.

Um...

there's just,
there's a lot of hard work

that needs to be done.

And the less you can spend

arguing about who's better,

um, or who did what to whom.

Uh, it'd be better
to just focus on

more fans,
better production,

better venues,
better sponsors,

better social media,
better website.

And I think that's...

It feels like that's where
it's headed right now,

is that you can
actually sort of...

elevate the sport to where

people think
it's possible to go.

And so until you prove it,
it's just a story.

I tell my kids, if I want
a story, I'll buy a book.

And so right now
we're telling a story

about where this is gonna go.

And now it's up to us
to go do the work

to make sure it gets there.

Whew! What a ride, folks.

A little bumpy along the way,
but, hey, at the end of the day,

stay calm and paddle on.

One, two,
one, two, three and...

♪ Two at a time
they fall in line ♪

♪ The usual suspects ♪

♪ In the morning light ♪

♪ A firefight ♪

♪ Ready at the net ♪

♪ My shoes are tied ♪

♪ My laces tight ♪

♪ I got my sun hat, my water ♪

♪ My paddles, my life ♪

♪ Ready to fight ♪

♪ I don't easily scare ♪

♪ You can't
go in the kitchen ♪

♪ If you take it
in the air ♪

♪ Two at a time
they fall in line ♪

♪ The usual suspects ♪

♪ In the morning light ♪

♪ A firefight ♪

♪ Ready at the net ♪

♪ My shoes are tied,
my laces tight ♪

♪ I got my sun hat, my water ♪

♪ My paddles, my life ♪

♪ Ready to fight ♪

♪ I don't easily scare ♪

♪ You can't go in the kitchen ♪

♪ If you take it in the air ♪

Whoo!