The Association of Pickleball Professionals (APP) announced it has extended its partnership with Franklin Sports as an official partner of the APP. Franklin’s renewal will see the brand embedded in the APP Tour throughout 2023, and the Franklin X-40 ball will be the official ball of the APP Next Gen Series.
Franklin Sports, a leading sporting goods brand with a catalog of over 10,000 products across 15 different sports, entered the pickleball market in 2016 and has now established themselves as a market leader featuring a wide collection of pickleball products including paddles, balls, nets and retail placement of these goods in more than 40,000 retail doors nationwide. 2022 saw Franklin become an official sponsor of the APP Next Gen Series for aspiring pickleball professionals aged 16-23. Franklin is the official ball of USA Pickleball, and the APP Tour is the only professional tour officially sanctioned by USA Pickleball.
As part of Franklin’s partnership with the APP, the Franklin brand will immerse itself in the APP Tour with in-venue branding and visibility at all tournaments including signage, social media promotion, and inclusion in APP Tour broadcast productions – which includes a combined 20 hours of televised coverage across CBS Sports Network and ESPN2 for all 16 2023 APP Tour events, plus more than 200 hours of livestream coverage on ESPN+ and APPTV.
“We are delighted to extend our partnership with Franklin,” commented Tom Webb, APP Chief Marketing Officer. “The APP and Franklin have a shared commitment to the ongoing growth of pickleball, and a strong investment in the rapidly growing pickleball community. We share a fundamental belief that pickleball is a sport for all people, of all ages, and are proud that we are able to extend our partnership with an organization whose values so closely mirror our own.”
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the APP Tour,” said Adam Franklin, President of Franklin Sports. “The APP and Franklin are aligned on many of the key initiatives we see as essential for the ongoing growth of the sport. The APP’s commitment to providing opportunities for athletes of all ages to compete is so important for ushering in the next generation of pickleball athletes to develop into the future stars and leaders of tomorrow.”
To learn more about Franklin, visit FranklinSports.com.
