Palm Beach Royals
Palm Beach Royals is a privately held professional pickleball franchise and the 20th team in Major League Pickleball, serving pickleball fans and South Florida sports audiences through MLP event participation, sponsorships, a $750/year Reserve Club membership, merchandise, and an Ambassador Program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2025
- HeadquartersWeston, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Palm Beach Royals does
Palm Beach Royals is a privately held professional pickleball franchise and the 20th team in Major League Pickleball (MLP), positioned as Palm Beach's first major professional sports franchise. Founded in 2025 by former UNC tennis players and tech entrepreneurs Zach Hunter, Taylor Meyer, Alex Rafiee, and Peter Fox, the organization is headquartered in Palm Beach, Florida, and competes in the national MLP event calendar, including stops in New York, St. Petersburg, and Orlando, with matches broadcast on PickleballTV and WPTV x Scripps Sports.
The franchise operates a portfolio of products spanning the core MLP team, a Champions Series team (Palm Beach Royals Champions) formed through the April 2026 acquisition of the Boca Surge, a private Reserve Club membership priced at $750 per year, an Ambassador Program for community representatives, and a direct-to-consumer merchandise store. Revenue is generated through four streams: MLP event ticket sales, a tiered sponsorship book (Premier partner Baptist Health plus Official and Community partners), recurring Reserve Club memberships, and merchandise. GTM motion is event-driven and direct-to-consumer, combining ticketing, community clinics and charity tournaments, social media, email, and ambassador outreach to acquire and engage fans primarily in South Florida with national MLP-driven reach.
The business model is characteristic of an early-stage professional sports franchise: high-visibility consumer engagement, sponsor-led monetization layered on top of small-ticket D2C revenue (memberships and merchandise), and concentrated ownership with no disclosed institutional or PE/VC backing beyond an initial $2,685,000 funding round in August 2025.
Palm Beach Royals firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Palm Beach Royals
- Legal name
- Palm Beach Royals
- Website
- https://palmbeachroyals.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2025
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Palm Beach Royals is a privately held professional pickleball franchise and the 20th team in Major League Pickleball, serving pickleball fans and South Florida sports audiences through MLP event participation, sponsorships, a $750/year Reserve Club membership, merchandise, and an Ambassador Program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Palm Beach Royals industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Pickleball / Sports Entertainment
- NAICS
- Spectator Sports (71121), Other Spectator Sports (711219)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional Live Sports Leagues & Tours (MPAGAMAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Amateur Event & Tournament Organizers (Meets, Invitationals, Opens) (MPAKACAL), Amateur & Grassroots Tournament Organizers (MPAKADAH)
Keywords
Where Palm Beach Royals is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Weston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Palm Beach Royals business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- MLP Event Revenue: Revenue from MLP regular season events, playoff matches, and championship games held at various venues across the country including New York, St. Petersburg, and Orlando.
- Sponsorship Revenue: Title partner, premier partner, official partner, and community partner sponsorships providing brand visibility, in-venue presence, and digital marketing opportunities.
- Merchandise Sales: Official Palm Beach Royals merchandise including apparel, accessories, and fan gear sold through the online store.
- Reserve Club Membership: Private membership program at $750/year offering direct access to front office, coaches, players, organized practices, event tickets, and exclusive merchandise.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Royals Reserve Club Annual Membership |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Palm Beach Royals product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Palm Beach Royals fields a Premier Major League Pickleball team that competes in MLP regular season, playoff, and championship events held at venues across the United States. The franchise sells event tickets through tixr.com, offers a private $750/year Reserve Club membership granting direct access to the front office, coaches, and players, runs an ambassador community-rep program, and sells official team merchandise through its online store. The organization also hosts community pickleball clinics and charity tournaments in South Florida.
Product overview
Palm Beach Royals is a Major League Pickleball franchise offering a single primary product: professional pickleball team participation in the MLP league. The portfolio includes the core MLP team (Palm Beach Royals), an integrated Champions Series team (Palm Beach Royals Champions), a private supporter membership (Royals Reserve Club), an ambassador program for community representatives, and a fan merchandise store. The organization represents the 20th MLP franchise and Palm Beach's first major professional sports franchise, founded in 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Palm Beach Royals Champions: A unified multi-generational pickleball organization combining the Major League Pickleball franchise with a Champions Series team (for senior professional players 40+, 50+, 60+ divisions).
- Royals Reserve Club
- Reserve Club
Products and services
- Royals Reserve Club Annual Membership An annual subscription membership sold at $750 per person per year that grants direct access to the front office, coaches, and players of the Palm Beach Royals. Includes monthly on-court sessions, monthly private Zoom sessions, an official Royals kit (2 Dri-Fit shirts, 2 hats, 1 shirt, 1 quarter zip, 1 hoodie), up to 3 MiLP event registrations, 2 MLP Orlando event tickets, 2 MLP St. Pete event tickets, a merchandise discount code, and fast-track consideration for the Ambassador Program. Targeted at premium fans, competitive recreational players, and community leaders in South Florida.
- Ambassador Program An application-based community representative program offering exclusive events, official team merchandise, ambassador items, collaboration opportunities, networking, personal brand growth, and performance-based rewards. Designed for fans who want to represent the Palm Beach Royals in their local community and actively grow the team's presence.
- Official Fan Merchandise Direct-to-consumer online store at palmbeachroyals.com/store selling official Palm Beach Royals apparel, accessories, and fan gear for supporters and pickleball fans.
- MLP Event Tickets Tickets to Major League Pickleball events in which the Palm Beach Royals compete, sold via tixr.com (e.g., MLP New York at Randall's Island on June 25–28). Includes Championship Court and Grandstand Court matches across the regular season and playoffs held in cities including New York, St. Petersburg, and Orlando.
Companies that use Palm Beach Royals
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Palm Beach Royals technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Palm Beach Royals partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Copperpoint Brewing Co.minorExclusive beverage sponsor for the 'Paddles for a Purpose' charity pickleball tournament benefiting Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County Inc.
- Top Gun SecurityminorTop Gun Security, a veteran-owned security company, is the Official Security Partner for the 2026 season. This partnership marks their entry into professional sports venue security services.
- Baptist HealthcoreBaptist Health serves as the Premier Uniform Sponsor and Official Healthcare Provider for the Palm Beach Royals. The partnership provides prominent uniform branding and healthcare services for the team.
- Granny-O-LacoreGranny-O-La is the Exclusive Artisan Granola Provider and Community Partner. As a premium granola brand that donates 50% of profits to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, they provide in-venue presence, digital storytelling, and on-site experiences including 'Royal Refuel' grab-and-go activations.
- WPTV x Scripps SportsminorMedia partnership providing broadcast and sports coverage for the team and MLP events.
- Scripps SportsminorNational sports broadcasting partner for MLP events featuring the Royals.
- UsualminorOfficial Partner - wine brand with in-venue presence at Royals events.
- OzuraminorOfficial Partner - brand partner with presence at Royals events.
- Transworld Business AdvisorsminorBusiness advisory partner supporting the Royals organization.
- SoFlo HockeyminorCommunity Partner - South Florida hockey organization collaborating with the Royals community initiatives.
- MySportJobsminorCommunity Partner - sports job platform supporting Royals community and hiring initiatives.
- Boca SurgecoreAcquired and integrated with the Boca Surge to form Palm Beach Royals Champions, creating the first unified multi-generational pickleball organization combining MLP franchise with Champions Series team.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves1 record
Expansion highlights5 records
Palm Beach Royals competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Florida Smash: Another MLP franchise based in Florida, competing in the same Major League Pickleball events against the Palm Beach Royals. Operates an identical business model (sponsorships, merchandise, tickets, fan memberships) and is the most direct in-state competitor for South Florida pickleball fans.
- Carolina Hogs: MLP franchise listed on the Royals' official schedule for MLP New York. Direct competitive peer within the same Major League Pickleball league, operating the same franchise business model.
- Brooklyn Pickleball Team: MLP franchise scheduled against Palm Beach Royals at MLP New York (per the Royals' own event page). Competes in the same league with the same revenue model and player acquisition dynamics.
- Bay Area Breakers: MLP franchise appearing on the Royals' event schedule. Same league, same franchise economics, same target demographics for sponsorships and premium fan memberships.
- Texas Ranchers: MLP franchise with the same league affiliation and business model. Comparable in scale and stage of operation, providing direct benchmarking on sponsorship pricing and attendance.
- Dallas Flash: MLP franchise scheduled against the Royals. Operates an identical business model — sponsorships, ticketing, merchandise, fan engagement — and competes for the same league-wide sponsorship inventory.
- Orlando Squeeze: MLP franchise also based in Florida, listed on the same MLP event tickets and matches. Shares the same league schedule, business model, and target sponsor base as Palm Beach Royals within the Florida market.
- Atlanta Bouncers: MLP franchise operating in the same league with identical business model. Competes for shared national sponsorship categories and league-level media positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Professional Pickleball Association (PPA Tour): The competing professional pickleball tour. While not a single team, the PPA Tour is the closest broad incumbent to MLP and competes for professional pickleball athletes, sponsorships, broadcast deals, and fan attention. A change in PPA-MLP competitive dynamics affects the Royals' underlying league economics.
- Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP Tour): One of the three major professional pickleball tours competing for top players, sponsorship dollars, and tournament audiences. Movements in the APP Tour's commercial position relative to MLP could affect player compensation costs and league valuations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Palm Beach Royals social profiles
Digital presencePalm Beach Royals financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Palm Beach Royals leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Palm Beach Royals funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Palm Beach Royals M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Palm Beach Royals
What does Palm Beach Royals do?
Palm Beach Royals fields a Premier Major League Pickleball team that competes in MLP regular season, playoff, and championship events held at venues across the United States. The franchise sells event tickets through tixr.com, offers a private $750/year Reserve Club membership granting direct access to the front office, coaches, and players, runs an ambassador community-rep program, and sells official team merchandise through its online store. The organization also hosts community pickleball clinics and charity tournaments in South Florida.
Is Palm Beach Royals a public or private company?
Palm Beach Royals is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Palm Beach Royals founded?
Palm Beach Royals was founded in 2025. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Palm Beach Royals based?
Palm Beach Royals is headquartered in Weston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Palm Beach Royals make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. MLP Event Revenue is the primary driver. The others are sponsorship Revenue, merchandise Sales and reserve Club Membership.
Who are Palm Beach Royals's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Florida Smash, Carolina Hogs, Brooklyn Pickleball Team, Bay Area Breakers, Texas Ranchers, Dallas Flash, Orlando Squeeze and Atlanta Bouncers. Broad incumbents are Professional Pickleball Association (PPA Tour) and Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP Tour).
Does Palm Beach Royals have an API?
No public API is recorded for Palm Beach Royals.
What industry is Palm Beach Royals in?
Palm Beach Royals's product category is Professional Pickleball / Sports Entertainment. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAMAA, Professional Live Sports Leagues & Tours, with a secondary code of MPAKACAL, Amateur Event & Tournament Organizers (Meets, Invitationals, Opens). Its NAICS code is 71121.