It Just Means More: Professional Pickleball Players Are Taking A 40% Paycut To Save The League
Bruce Yeung. Getty Images.Nobody was making more money this summer than professional pickleball players. I mean…maybe millionaires were making more money than pro pickleball players, but nobody normal. There were a couple weeks throughout the summer when every time you turned around, these dudes and gals were signing new 6-figure contracts. That was all thanks to two competing pro leagues that essentially went to war against each other trying to buy up all the best competition.
Without going into too much detail, it was pretty similar to the PGA Tour vs LIV. Two competing tours trying to throw a shit ton of money at players in the hopes of swallowing up all the competition and thus destroying the other league. These players were getting contracts thrown their way worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. To play pickleball. Most of these guys all work full-time jobs when they're not playing. And here they were signing contracts worth $300,000 and they'd be able to quit their jobs and just play pickleball forever. I'd imagine that anybody reading this blog right now would take that deal in a heartbeat.
Seems way too good to be true, sure, but you couldn't blame the players one bit for signing all those contracts just in case. But the war between the two leagues ended pretty quickly, they called for a ceasefire and are now in the middle of merging together as one. And now that all the dust has settled from the war…
Well it turns out the leagues forgot about the part where they actually had to pay those contracts. And it turns out that $15 million is a fuck ton of money. A little more money than they can actually pay.
CNBC -- Major League Pickleball is requesting that players consent to compensation reductions of 40% in return for a reduction of work obligations, according an email sent to players that was obtained by CNBC.
“We have carefully studied the economics of the business and determined that certain changes need to be made to ensure a sustainable and viable business that will not only survive but thrive in 2024 and beyond for the benefit of all stakeholders,” the email reads.
I don't know much about the law and all that jazz. But from what I've gathered in my 31-years of living is that contracts are typically legally binding. So nobody has to take a 40% paycut. They signed the paper, they're owed that amount of money. But it's either the players keep their contracts as is and the league goes under in a year, or they agree to a 40% paycut and save pro pickleball. Do they love their bank account, or do they love the game?
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Turns out pickleball just means more.
You think LeBron James would ever take a 6-figure pay cut just to save the NBA? No chance. So many professional athletes forget that they're getting paid to play a game for a living. The same game they grew up playing for free their whole lives. Do they love the game, or do they love the money that comes along with it now? The easiest way to get that answer is to ask LeBron to play his next game for free. Guarantee you he's not walking onto that floor without a paycheck coming his way.
But pickleball ain't about the money. Sure, I bet these guys would all love to have a fuck ton of money. But they love the game and they're willing to still deal with a dickbag boss the other 5-days a week to save it. It's truly the common man's game. Tennis players are all country club kids. All the other major sports in America have turned these athletes into a bunch of overpaid divas who would rather not play at all than have to stay at a 4-star hotel during road trips. Pickleball is for the common man, by the common man. You could take 100% of their pay away and they'd still be out there. But maybe just let them keep the 60% that they still have right now. They deserve it.