Is Anna Leigh Waters' Franklin Deal Really Worth $10 Million?

The undisputed #1 women's pickleball player ever just signed a stunning long-term deal with Franklin. If you missed it, you can read about it here.

But now everyone is wondering one thing: how big is the contract really?

PicklePod host and decorated pro Zane Navratil has an idea:

"I've got this pegged as an eight figure deal. And here's the rationale that I've got. So Ben Johns made $2.5 million in 2024, right?" That's obviously split between PPA contract and JOOLA contract. My guess is that based on what PPA contracts were from Tour Wars, I'm thinking he's getting $1.5 million from PPA, $1 million from JOOLA per year to get that $2.5M."

He extends the rationale further. If Ben Johns was making that much in 2021, how much is Anna Leigh worth now?

"Four years later and probably hundreds of millions more people playing pickleball, you've got to think that, okay, this deal probably isn't four times as big... but let's say conservatively two times as big, that puts this deal at $2 million at least."

Ben famously has a lifetime deal with JOOLA. We don't think Anna Leigh got the same thing with Paddletek, but it's got to be closer to five years to feel worth it for both sides.

Zane got into it on the latest PicklePod with new host Nico the Lefty and The Dink's founder Thomas Shields. Here's the clip:

The full episode goes deep on even more fun topics, like:

Thomas thinks the PicklePod hosts could take any other podcast hosts in a doubles match
Aside from Ben Johns, do any other pros actually sell paddles?
The return of “Guess My DUPR” featuring highlights from Mr. Lead Feet himself, Nico the Lefty
Zane flames Thomas for what he calls a “clown take”
And Nico gives some very unsolicited (and questionable) dating advice

Watch it below: