Drake, Michael B. Jordan, Steve Stoute Among New Investors In Brooklyn Aces Pickleball Team

Drake has teamed up with Michael B. Jordan, Steve Stout, and others to invest in a Brooklyn-based pickleball team.

The Major League Pickleball’s Brooklyn Aces announced its newest group of investors which includes a five-time Grammy-winning rapper, a celebrated actor, and UnitedMasters and Translation founder/CEO, Boardroom reports. The team’s majority owner applauded the new group of “savvy” co-owners.

“We’re thrilled to have this incredible group of investors join the Brooklyn Aces as we continue to grow the team and raise the profile of Major League Pickleball as a whole,” Boardroom and 35V co-founder/CEO and Aces majority owner Rich Kleiman said.

“It’s the idea of bringing people in that we could share in this with and utilize resources as the Aces evolve. Our investor group includes some of the savviest entrepreneurs in the business, and having this network on our cap table positions us to be successful.”

Securing investment from Drake came through personal relationships with Kleiman being good friends with Drake’s manager Adel “Future the Prince” Nur.

“Just having their ear and their support is really incredible,” Kleiman said of his new co-owners.

It also expands Jordan’s growing list of sports team investments with the Creed star recently buying into the Alpine Formula 1 team and English soccer’s AFC Bournemouth. Jordan and Kleiman’s 35V are also stakeholders in New York City-based esports organization NYXL.

Joining Drake, Jordan, and Stoute on the Brooklyn Aces investors team are CityPickle co-founders Mary Cannon and Erica Desai; LionTree Chairman and CEO Aryeh Bourkoff and Managing Director Alex Michael; Baby2Baby Co-CEO Kelly Sawyer Patricof; producer and Hunting Lane founder Jamie Patricof; Status Labs CEO Darius Fisher and CMO Jesse Boskoff; Winible.com CEO Noah Traisman; and Dynamic DNA Labs founder and CEO Austin O’Reilly.

The investments come as pickleball continues to boom in the sports world with Major League Pickleball gaining prominence and recognition.