$2.5 MIL to play pickleball? Ben Johns says "yes sir"

Good day, picklers. Welcome to a brand new Pickle Talk experience. Brand new design, brand new logo, brand new everything. But with alllll the same pickle talk goodness 😎

Let’s get into some PICKLE TALK

BEN JOHNs (PICKLEBALL’S 🥇) IS NOW MAKING $2.5 MIL A YEAR 💰

Who knew, right? Since the super hype of professional pickleball has blossomed in the past few years, the idea of actually making a living playing a brand new sport was simply a dream.

But Johns, the 25-year-old who’s ranked #1 for the last 3 years, has turned that dream into a da*m good reality.

With his pickleball chops, he is now making a comfy $2.5 MILLION a year. And get this: he told CNBC that in 2018, he was making a meager $50,000.

So you might be wondering: What’s making up this $2.5 million pie of his?🧐

In short, his money pie is made up of his pickleball salary as a signed player with the PPA as well as endorsement deals by big brands who would be dumb NOT to want to sponsor such a super duper athlete like Johns.

Brands like Joola Pickleball and Life Time Fitness are just a couple of the fingers on a handful of sponsors he works with.

Added bonus…a pickleball tip from Ben Johns himself.

REWIND…Last year, around June, Sports Illustrated shared that Anna Leigh Waters, the #1 female player, was set to make $1 mil+ in 2023.

AI & PICKLEBALL: CAN AI EXPLAIN PICKLE TO AN IDIOT? 🍎

For all that it is, AI has become a fascination around the world in the past year.

You’ve got people pulling out their hair, wide-eyed, worrying about tiny robots taking their white collar jobs. Deep fakes of Donald Trump and Taylor Swift convincing the world of social destruction.

Albeit, it’s impressive what a ripple in the waters can do to humanity’s self-doubt.

You know…questioning the future and all. So in the midst of all this doom, let’s have some fun, shall we?

What happens when you ask an AI imaging model (name excluded) to illustrate varied paddle grips?

Here’s the outcome, and be prepared to be…*blown away*?:

BITE-SIZED PICKLES FOR OFF THE COURT

1/ We love a good celebrity-pickleball moment, and this week it’s a good, chilly one. In an Instagram-worthy post, Dax Shepard posted a picture of him and his wife, Kristen Bell, star of The Good Place and Frozen, holding up pickleball paddle. His admission? The couple couldn’t hold out any longer and finally stepped on to the pickleball courts, where they are addicted. No surprise here.

2/ Reddit, pickleball, and mental health earn this week’s top pickleball convo. The user r/mrmax215 makes a heartfelt post about how pickleball “saved my mental health” and redditors reciprocate by sharing their own stories. From the death of wives to suicide, this thread is somewhat of a tearjerker.

3/ You know we’ve made it when pickleball gets its own convention in Vegas, baby. From June 6-9, the World Pickleball convention will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. There will be over 100 exhibitors on the trade show floor, informational forums from pickleball experts, and a USA Pickleball Indoor Championship Tournament with over 1,000 pro and amateur players.

4/ Netflix’s newest romance comedy, Mother of the Bride, is out NOW! The plot via Google: Stunned by her daughter's bombshell wedding announcement, Lana soon faces another shock: the groom's father is the man who broke her heart years ago. But what is the real reason to watch? Pickleball makes its big screen debut 🤭

5/ Pickleball theft has hit Tennis Topia in Maryland. Caught on tape, the owner of the sports shop says $4,500 worth of pickleball paddles were stolen. In paddles, that’s about 25-30 higher end paddles. The thieve’s strategy? Hiding the paddles under clothes.

GOLDEN PICKLE, ANYONE?

Pickleball claims another very, very famous investor, but this time around, all the money is going to a team down under. That’s right: former World #1 golfer Adam Scott is now a proud owner of Australia’s own Gold Coast Glory Pro Pickleball Team.

As an on-looker: I’m shaking my head.
As an opponent: This guy should be feared.
As the cameraman: I’m hoping this goes viral.
As Paddletek: SPONSOR HIM, IMMEDIATELY.

ICYMI…A Pickle Talk Rewind