It seems everywhere you turn, there’s new news about pickleball.
The tennis-like paddle game has been the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. for three straight years, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s Topline Participation Report. Additionally, the sport has grown 159 percent over that same three-year span.
Major League Pickleball (MLP) emerged on the scene in 2021, with the Texas Ranchers being one of the first eight teams in the league. Now, they’re getting a shake up at the top with a sparkling new ownership group that includes some big names in the world of football, golf, music and fashion.
Entrepreneur Evan Floersch is now the president and part-owner of the Ranchers and is joined by NFL players Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett, C.J. Stroud and Bijan Robinson, as well as golfer Scottie Scheffler, designer Kendra Scott and country singer Zach Bryan, among others.
“It just naturally gets competitive with me and friends, and then it just becomes an addiction,” Garrett said of pickleball in a phone interview with For The Win. “It’s a simple game, but that pulls you in even more sometimes when it’s that simple and you feel like you should be getting it and you want to be really good at it.”
The quartet of NFL players all have some connection to the state of Texas as Stroud (Texans) and Parsons (Cowboys) are both currently signed to Texas-based teams, and Garrett (Texas A&M) and Robinson (Texas) played their college ball in the state.
Everything’s Bigger In Texas.
And we’re here to prove it.
We are thrilled to announce the new ownership group for the Texas Ranchers @MajorLeaguePB team.
Say what’s up y’all. 🤠#RideTall#Pickleball#TexasRanchers pic.twitter.com/F9tbqcHEO0
— Texas Ranchers (@RanchersMLP) August 22, 2023
“As a native Texan I was happy to be connected with Texas Ranchers, but also, I genuinely love pickleball and have been playing during my off-season” Garrett, who now plays for the Cleveland Browns, said in the press release. “Each person that makes up this ownership group brings a little something different to the table and we’ve all come together because of a passion for the sport and to inspire community on and off the court.”
The idea of community was present in comments from both Garrett and Floersch.
“We want our focus on community building and doing social good to be our differentiator — and strength — for our positioning in the league,” Floersch told For The Win.
“Given how approachable and wildly popular pickleball has become, we believe it can be a sport that is inclusive and brings people of all walks of life together.”
The Ranchers are not the first pro squad to look to celebrity athletes for investments as LeBron James, Tom Brady Michael Phelps, Kevin Durant and other stars have all joined co-ownership groups across the league. With individual team valuations reaching the double-digit millions, pickleball seems to be a sport that will continue to grow.
