Pickleball is getting a rock-and-roll makeover, with Andre Agassi bringing the Grateful Useless’s iconic dancing bears and cranium emblem to the courtroom by means of a brand new merchandise partnership.
Agassi Sports activities Leisure introduced on 5 November 2026 that its subsidiary, Agassi Sports activities Licensing LLC, had signed a merchandise licensing settlement with Rhino Leisure, a Warner Music Group firm, to develop and promote Grateful Useless-branded pickleball and padel merchandise.
The deliberate assortment will characteristic iconic imagery related to the American rock band, together with its dancing bears and the well-known “Stealie” cranium emblem. Agassi branding might additionally seem on chosen merchandise.
What the Agassi, Grateful Useless May Put Out
The merchandise lineup might cowl sporting gear, equipment, attire, and hydration merchandise. Agassi Sports activities Leisure has additionally entered right into a separate manufacturing settlement to provide and distribute the gathering.
The corporate plans to promote the merchandise worldwide by means of direct-to-consumer channels and chosen wholesale companions. Nonetheless, monetary phrases of the licensing settlement weren’t disclosed.
“Pickleball has change into a real cultural crossover sport,” Agassi Sports activities Leisure CEO and co-founder Ron Boreta stated within the announcement.
Agassi highlighted the Grateful Useless’s capacity to construct a loyal following round its music and id as a pure match for the rising racket sports activities market.
“No person understands constructing a neighborhood round one thing folks love greater than the Grateful Useless,” he stated.
The partnership brings collectively two communities constructed round participation, id, and shared enthusiasm. The Grateful Useless, which toured for 3 many years and carried out greater than 2,300 concert events, has developed a merchandising presence extending past music into clothes, footwear, and way of life merchandise.
Pickleball and padel now change into extra markets for the band’s distinctive branding.
Agassi Is All-In on Racket Sports activities
The settlement additionally expands Agassi Sports activities Leisure’s rising involvement in racket sports activities. The corporate, which trades below the ticker AASP, is constructed across the manufacturers of Agassi and fellow tennis legend Stefanie Graf.
In August, it launched its world “Let’s Play” initiative, aimed toward establishing a community of pickleball and padel golf equipment by means of acquisitions, partnerships, and franchising. Preliminary growth plans included Germany, with Graf, and Australia, working with coach Darren Cahill.
Agassi has additionally established a presence in pickleball gear by means of JOOLA’s Agassi Professional V paddle. In 2025, he partnered with skilled participant Anna Leigh Waters on the US Open Pickleball Championships.
The Grateful Useless assortment represents one other try to attach pickleball with established leisure and way of life manufacturers as the game expands past its conventional sporting viewers.
Merchandise are anticipated to start rolling out in mid-2027, with pricing and particular product particulars to be introduced nearer to launch.
For now, the partnership alerts one other crossover between music tradition and racket sports activities, with the Grateful Useless’s dancing bears doubtlessly discovering a brand new dwelling on pickleball courts worldwide.
