The UPA Financial Controversy
A Special Report by Pickleball Tech Dude
Speaker: Rafael Trevino
Time Stamps:
- 00:00 - INTRO: Overview of the controversy
- 00:47 - JILL BRAVERMAN STATEMENT: Analysis of Braverman's claims
- 11:58 - UPA CEO STATEMENT: Connor Pardoe's response
- 16:15 - NEW UPA CSO STATEMENT: Samin Odhwani's perspective
- 20:08 - OUTRO: Final thoughts and channel updates
Transcript
[00:00] INTRO Pickleball social media has been spiraling out of control ever since Pro Player Jill Braverman's accusations that the UPA requires a $10 million emergency Bridge Loan by January 15th to stay afloat. I've spoken with several people over the last couple of days, both with and without dogs in this fight, to glean the facts about the situation. Today, we're going to dissect both Jullian Braverman's as well as a couple of UPA Executives' statements—very serious statements which, ironically, came out via Twitter. To be clear, I haven't read any of the statements in full, so I'm going to be reacting to these alongside with you partially, and if there's any information that I'm unaware of or unsure, I'm not going to be afraid to tell you guys, but I'm also not going to hold back. So by the end of the video, you're going to know absolutely everything that I know. So let's get into it.
[00:47] JILL BRAVERMAN STATEMENT Let's go through this bit by bit, and I'll interject with my commentary. Let's start with Jillian Braverman's statement: "10 months after the Blockbuster $75 million merger between Major League Pickleball, LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Heiser Bush and Tom Dundon's Carvana Top Golf back PPA tour, the new entity, the UPA needs an emergency Bridge Loan of $10 million by January 15th to meet its Financial Obligations."
The statement for the most part is accurate, but there are some misleading connotations here. Putting "$75 million merger" in quotations is definitely accurate. From my understanding, the number was closer to 30 to 40 million, and the 10 million dollar value of the loan on top of it being a January 15th deadline are both correct as well. However, calling this an "emergency bridge loan" is 1,000% a stretch. Bridge Loan requests are often sent months in advance to pre-existing investors, so my assumption is that that money has likely already been raised; otherwise, we'd be seeing emergency meetings with investors now. So the lack of evidence of that doesn't point to any kind of emergency whatsoever.
At the same time, the bridge loan request was sent to MLP team owners, and not without irony, the UPA announced via press release: "Pro Pickleball continues to explode, PPA tour Major League Pickleball have best year ever in 2024." False again—the bridge loan was probably sent months ago. Now whether it was sent two months ago or sent 5 months ago, I don't know, so the urgency there could be a little different, but the press release was very recently uploaded, so that was not at the same time.
Citing that female pickleball players make more than WNBA players and pickleball on Fox outperformed an MLS Cup broadcast—these numbers from the article are likely true but they're to be taken with a grain of salt. That MLS Cup game likely happened between two USL teams, which are already below Major League Soccer in a sport where we already don't really care about soccer. It's like comparing Manchester United game viewership versus Norwich City in the United States. If any of you can even tell me where Norwich City is, I'll be impressed, but overall it's just not a fair comparison.
The female pickleball player average salary being higher than WNBA is also technically true on paper. Female pickleball players average 260k according to the article versus WNBA being at just under 150k, but notably, the WNBA has a minimum salary requirement, which I don't believe currently exists in Pro Pickleball. And at the same time, on the pickleball side, it's very highly skewed by super high earners like Annalee Waters, Anna Bright, Catherine Parenteau, etc. So I would be interested to see the median salary of a female Pro Pickleball player as opposed to the mean in the future.
Can I ask kind of an awkward question—what exactly is going on here? Maybe we should rewind to last December when the 2-year long war between MLP and PPA ended with an uneasy merger between the frenemies. These are the questions that more people should be asking. I think Jill would have been totally fine leaving this tweet exactly where it is right here because UPA and UPAA both need to be a lot more transparent with how they're conducting business. I think in the long run though, it's difficult to hold them specifically to finances because they're operating as for-profit businesses. So you don't exactly see Chick-fil-A advertising how much they make on 12-count nuggets every week, and I think they will see that in a similar light, even though we will want to know that as players.
Inherited in the merger was $30 million in annual player salary debt, driven up in a war over players between MLP and PPA pre-merger. That's absolutely true—that war over players and the resulting contracts is what has put UPA in a hole from the very beginning. On the road to the merger, MLP asked its players to take 40% salary reductions, whereas Dundon's players (PPA) took little to no reductions. I mean, yeah, that's technically true, but there's a lot more contracted players in MLP than PPA in the first place, so I think it's wrong to say that there were no PPA players or less that took reductions because there were reductions taken by PPA players, but just comparatively a lot more contracts needed to be reduced on the MLP side, so you're kind of comparing apples to oranges there.
[11:58] UPA CEO STATEMENT Okay, that was all a lot, but let's quickly go through the C-Suite Executives from the UPA who have responded so far. Connor Pardoe, CEO of UPA's response starts: "My response to Jill Braverman's take on Pro Pickleball. Wow @JillBPB what a sensational take. I wasn't planning to respond but when misinformation starts spreading, it's important to set the record straight."
He's absolutely right in saying this. I mean, we went through a lot of false information that was in Jill's statement, although I will say that this would be more appropriate coming from maybe their head of communications and a formal response to the media. So I hope that there's no indication in this message that anything that Jill said was taken personally.
"The health and trajectory of professional pickleball have never been better. The combined PPA tour and MLP generated over $50 million in Revenue last year and we're on track to exceed $65 million in 2025." The 50 million in this past year is definitely true. 65 million in 2025 is a maybe for me. I'm not sure who's been crunching the numbers over there since I left, but if the international tour stops are as successful as they might be, then I could potentially see 65 million for sure.
"That's without team sales by the way. Sponsorships are nearing 35 million, ticket sales are at 10 million, and event registrations are hitting 9 million. These numbers don't lie and they reflect a sport that's growing, thriving and building towards a $1 billion Enterprise." I think the exact numbers cited here are false, but that's because I consider 20% to 25% inflation of numbers to not be good accurate ballpark estimates. But if you do, then in that case they'd be accurate. But I will say pickleball valuation in American markets is set to be over $300 million I believe, so if we expand to the international markets and just include Asia and Europe and have similar success, then I could definitely see us heading towards a billion, sure.
"Merging MLP and the PPA tour wasn't without its challenges—growth never is. But we're incredibly proud of what this organization has accomplished. From a talented staff to the professional players and a supportive ownership group, everyone is working relentlessly to elevate the sport we all love." This is true, can confirm that there are some diamonds in the rough and there's definitely a lot of people at the UPA that are doing really good work for the sport.
"Your narrative, however, doesn't reflect reality. It's full of half-truths and sensationalism aimed at tearing others down rather than lifting the game up. If your goal is to truly help pickleball, spreading misinformation isn't the way to do it." I unfortunately have to agree here. As a fellow content creator, I understand the constant pressure of needing to put out content, but when you're dealing with topics like this that legitimately affect people's livelihoods, you need to be a little bit smarter about what you say, what you put out there, which is why I no longer put out drama news the day it releases. I always wait to get the full context.
"Professional pickleball is still in its early stages and yes, tough decisions have to be made, but let me be clear: Bridge loans, investments and calculated risks are part of any ambitious growth strategy. To suggest otherwise shows a lack of understanding of how successful organizations operate." I mean, this is true. I think from the outside looking in, it can be a little contradictory to be asking for loans amidst unprecedented growth, but sometimes you got to spend money to make money in certain businesses. That is—doesn't mean I agree with every financial decision being made here. I don't think that the tour is ready to support International stops, I don't think charging exorbitant paddle fees is good, I don't think that giving teenagers contracts worth over 250k annually is good, but in the end this is the trajectory that UPA has decided to take.
"The reality is Jill, the sport has outgrown your ability to stay relevant. Maybe that's why you're so bitter. It's easier to play the victim and stir up drama than to acknowledge that you're simply not a part of the future of pro pickleball. Good luck with whatever grudge-driven project you're working on for 2025. We'll be busy growing the sport, leading the community and building the next biggest Sports Enterprise. Pickleball's trajectory is set with or without you. Pickle on, Connor."
This is an absolutely classless move by Pardoe here. I really dislike this response. Imagine if Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, decided to respond to criticism about how the NFL is run from a third-string quarterback who knows nothing about business. I mean, as the leader of a Sports organization, you need to rise above certain things, especially in social media, and Pardoe has not done that and has fallen for the bait here unfortunately. This reveals a lot of his character and the character of a lot of people I think at the top of pro tours, and it's why I call for leadership changes so heavily in order for them to be sustainable in the future.
[16:15] NEW UPA CSO STATEMENT While speaking of a new era of leadership, the brand new CSO of the UPA, Samin, decided to respond via X as well, so let's go ahead and look at his response: "Jill, let's stick to the facts. Happy to help you with that. I just left a role with Kevin Durant's 35 Ventures and Boardroom to become Chief Strategy Officer at UPA. I moved my wife and newborn to Dallas yesterday because after meticulously reviewing the financials and financing strategy, I know this league will be a $1 billion plus business."
This is all true. I mean, Samin's credentials really do speak for themselves, and of course we talked a little bit previously how I could see this pickleball space becoming $1 billion or over in valuation in the future.
"Here's the reality: the league did $50 million in Revenue last year, right on plan, which is a miracle in a merger year and a testament to Connor Pardoe, our operating team and ability to execute." This is absolutely false. There's no way that the target was $50 million revenue, and even in the very unlikely chance that it was, I wonder how much of this was financed by pending investments such as title sponsorships for the UPA, which is set at a dollar value of $1 to 2 million, and I know for a fact there is one company that is already planning on signing that deal.
"The costs that we are now funding which were outside of the budget are: 1) buying back two teams and 2) buying players out of contracts we inherited from the bidding wars. These investments were made after board deliberation and with intentionality." Damn, I am so good sometimes. Yeah, this is probably true, and these are two factors that I previously predicted were going to be main things that UPA had to deal with that were unexpected. So this all but confirms that.
"You clearly have the email about the bridge loan but did you just invent the word 'emergency'? It's not in there. What you didn't mention is that the $10 million is already funded/fed by existing investors showing how committed our team owners are to our growth." This is a maybe for me as I haven't confirmed all the information, but I do have the bridge loan email as well and can confirm that "emergency" and any type of urgency in that way is not even implied in that email. And the maybe really comes from—I said earlier, one of the first things in the video, that the bridge loan was probably requested months ago and has already been covered. So I haven't confirmed that, but this is certainly indicating that that's the case.
"Since you'd like to make false claims, should we remind everyone when you said MLP players couldn't play PPA events? What happened there?" The implication that Jill was lying here is totally false. This was definitely going to be the case prior to the PPA/MLP merger when it looked unlikely. So afterwards, of course they're going to be allowed to play both—that doesn't even make any sense.
"Or when you claim to have over 100 players committed to your Collective? Should we share the truth on that? Or the many times you said the merger would never happen? You have absolutely no credibility." You kind of have to agree with Samin—he's got a point here. Everything that he said is true. It was determined that the player Collective that was established during the PPA/MLP bidding wars was never near 100 players, and then of course the very existence of the UPA is a testament that the PPA/MLP merger did end up occurring, regardless of how begrudging it was on both sides of the aisle.
"It's unfortunate you're not good enough to play with the best on the top tour and you have to resort to clickbait to fuel your career as a micro influencer. Seems like this time of year inspires you to make false claims. Looking forward to seeing what's next." Again, definitely not something that a C-Suite level executive should be saying on social media, especially one who's trying to endear himself to an entirely new crowd of people. Of course they're trying to defend the organization, both Samin and Pardoe, but this is definitely not the right way to do it. One thing you have to give Jill credibility for is that she never name-dropped anyone or made anything personal, and it seems like these two C-level Executives have stooped to personal attacks. It's just not something that you can do, and perhaps as a result of the fact that some of what Jill said is definitely true. However, it kind of presents itself in the end as truth amongst the lies, which isn't a great look for either side.
[20:08] OUTRO All right, well, I know that was a lot, but that's it—that's all that I know and all that I can glean after my first read of all these messages. If you want to continue staying close to these issues in 2025 and beyond from somebody who's been there and done that and dealt with a lot of people that are related to these situations, make sure you like, subscribe, and comment down below what you want to see next. Oh, and I do paddle reviews sometimes—it's not like my name is Tech Dude or anything. Well, regardless, thanks so much for sticking around here till the end. Again, please subscribe—we are on the road to 10K and we're trying to catch Pickleball Effect before the end of the year, so go ahead and join the gang. But with that, I hope you all stay happy and healthy and of course out on the courts until the next video. Peace.
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