• by Fern Siegel , August 9, 2023

It's got a funny name — but serious support.

The Sports & Fitness Industry Association named pickleball the fastest-growing sport in America for the third straight year. USA Pickleball membership increased 30% over 2022, and it's estimated 14% of U.S. adults played the game last year.

That's a lot of eyeballs — and Nettie, a pickleball gear brand with retro-inspired designs, saw an out-of-home ad opportunity. And "Hamilton," the Tony-winning Broadway show, took it.

Nettie released an exclusive limited-edition "Hamilton"-branded pickleball paddle on Aug. 8 to honor National Pickleball Day. As befits the show about founding father Alexander Hamilton, the paddle carries one of the musical's most memorable lines: "I am not throwing away my shot."

"Hamilton"'s advertising firm RPM did the design with an updated logo and Creative Goods, a merchandising agency specializing in theater, handled word treatment.

The paddles are available for purchase on the "Hamilton" merch site and Nettie’s homepage for $99.

“This is a collaboration between two game-changers,” said Catherine Baxter, founder and CEO of Nettie. “At Nettie, we brought cheerful, thoughtful design into the pickleball space, fundamentally transforming what pickleball gear looks like in order to reflect the joy and diversity of players we see on the court every day. "Hamilton"completely changed the game on Broadway and reshaped what a musical could look, sound, and feel like for an audience.”

Nettie has distribution in Dick’s Sporting Goods, Saks Fifth Avenue, Free People and hundreds of independent stores across the country. 

This year, ABC, CBS, Fox, Tennis Channel, ESPN and Amazon Prime have contracts to broadcast PPA (Professional Pickleball Association) Tour events. The Carvana tour is offering $5.5 million across its 25 events, while Major League Pickleball will distribute $5 million for six events this year.

The global pickleball market is projected to reach $2.3 billion by 2028.