MLP Presented by DoorDash: A New Era of Pickleball Partnerships

Major League Pickleball just served up its biggest move yet—rebranding as “MLP Presented by DoorDash” in a blockbuster sponsorship deal that marks the league’s largest financial partnership to date. DoorDash, already a heavy hitter across the NBA, WNBA, and MLS, has signed on as MLP’s title sponsor in a three-year agreement. This collaboration not only swaps out Margaritaville’s name from the marquee but also positions MLP alongside some of the biggest sports leagues in North America, all while giving fans discounts on pickles. Yes, pickles.

This isn’t your typical sports sponsorship. DoorDash is going all-in, taking naming rights for the league’s championship event in New York’s Central Park, which drew nearly 5,500 fans in 2024. The deal brings DoorDash perks both to fans in the stands and on their couches, as the company aims to embed itself into everyday life—not just mealtime. MLP Chief Revenue Officer George Killebrew, a former Dallas Mavericks exec, called the deal transformative, noting DoorDash’s creativity and scale as game-changers for a league with big-league aspirations and celebrity investors ranging from LeBron James to Patrick Mahomes.

This partnership is also a strategic leap for DoorDash, leveraging pickleball’s unprecedented growth—up 43% in 2024 to nearly 20 million U.S. players—as a pipeline to new customers. It’s a savvy move from both sides. MLP gets elevated visibility and fresh revenue, while DoorDash rides the wave of the most buzzed-about sport in America. If you’re looking for the moment when pickleball officially went corporate, this might be it. And with pickles on promo, at least it tastes like a win.