KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is already building a successful career off the football field with ownership stakes in the Kansas City Royals and Sporting KC.
Now he will add another professional sports team to his portfolio.
According to Forbes, Mahomes will be among a wave of celebrities to invest in a Major League Pickleball team.
The team will be based in Miami and Mahomes will be in an ownership group that will include tennis superstars Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios, NBA super-agent Rich Paul and Matthew Pritzker, a member of the family who manages Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.
The investment will cost Mahomes between $1 million and $3 million.
Mahomes will join a wide list of celebrities investing in Major League Pickleball. NBA stars Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green and future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterbacks Drew Brees and Tom Brady are some of the more notable celebrities to have invested in the league in the last 12 months.
Pickleball is a sport that is seeing growth around the country, including in Kansas City.
According to USA Pickleball’s 2022 factsheet, there were nearly 5 million pickleball players in the U.S. in 2021, and half of them were under the age of 35.
The Major League Pickleball league is one of three professional pickleball leagues in the country. The league will host six tournaments in 2023, with the total prize potentially set at $5 million.
The league initially started with eight teams in its inaugural season in 2021. The league expanded to 12 teams earlier this year.
The league's website states it will expand to 24 teams next season.
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