Celebrity Athlete-Investors Naomi Osaka, Patrick Mahomes to Join Major League Pickleball

Tennis champion Naomi Osaka and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes are reportedly investing in a new Major League Pickleball team based in Miami.

According to Forbes, the new team, whose ownership group includes NBA super-agent Rich Paul, will begin playing next year.

Though the value of the investments made by Osaka and Mahomes has not yet been determined, the outlet noted that recent expansion deals fall anywhere between $1 million and $3 million.

Pickleball combines various elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong and is played indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis net.

Numerous celebrity investors have poured substantial dollars into the pickleball league over the past few months. This latest rumored investment joins the ranks of celebrity investors such as Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and Los Angeles Laker LeBron James. 

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Durant teamed up with James and Golden State Warrior Draymond Green to purchase an expansion team. They are expecting to participate in the 2023 season. James connected with Green and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love in a new ownership group in September when they joined Major League Pickleball.

Forbes claimed that the fast-growing sport, founded by hedge-fund titan Steve Kuhn, is set to add another 12 franchises in 2023.

With impressive portfolios, Mahomes and Osaka are no strangers to ownership or investing. The football star has stakes in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Kansas City Royals and Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Sporting Kansas City. Per Forbes, he brings home an estimated $22 million off the field annually.

Osaka, who has been ranked as the world’s highest-paid female athlete for three consecutive years, has earned a total of $58 million off the tennis court. She topped Forbes’ list of the highest-paid female athletes of 2021. In January 2021, she invested in the National Women’s Soccer League’s (NWSL) North Carolina Courage and had already shown a knack for business with her Kinlò skincare line and stakes in VR startup StatusPRO, plant-based chicken maker Daring Foods and a collection of NFTs on Tom Brady’s Autograph platform.