Tom Brady reportedly set to follow LeBron James, Draymond Green in going all-in on Major League Pickleball franchise
Tom Brady is poised to buy a professional pickleball team, according to Front Office Sports. He follows fellow professional athletes LeBron James and Draymond Green in doing so. The rise of pickleball as a fun recreational sport has seen it morph into a viable professional league. There will be an expansion from 12 teams to 16 teams as the sport continues to rise in popularity.
The ownership group that Brady is a part of is led by Knighthead Capital Management LLC. It also includes Knighthead co-founder Tom Wagner, movie producer Matt Alvarez, financial advisor Kaitlyn Kerr and bond saleswoman Callie Simpkins.
Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. You can play it outdoors or inside and it uses a badminton sized court with a modified tennis net. The bat is made of wood and the ball is plastic with holes in it. Pickleball is growing in popularity not just in America, but also across Europe and Asia.
The future NFL Hall of Famer is not the only star athlete involved, though. Six-time Grand Slam champion tennis player Kim Clijsters is also involved. The team will begin playing in the 2023 pickleball season.
Is Tom Brady going to retire to focus on business ventures?
This year has already been quite tumultuous for the NFL's most accomplished player. He's reportedly going through a divorce and has been experiencing serious off-field issues. All that, plus the fact that the divorce is at least partially due to his refusal to retire, means this is probably his last year in the NFL.
He also has several different business ventures, which now includes a professional pickleball team, which will demand his attention. He also has sports medicine products and other investments. There's some speculation that he wants to own an NFL team, though that would be many years down the road.
There's good reason to believe Tom Brady is going to retire after this campaign. However, he recently spoke with Aaron Judge and asked him about playing tight end next year. That doesn't exactly imply that he wants to retire. His decision might not yet be made, but with off-the-field distractions mounting up, it seems more likely than not that this will be the end.