Major League Pickleball 2026: New 20-Team Format Explained

The Brooklyn Pickleball Team and NY Hustlers are merging while the Nashville Chefs and DC Pickleball Team are exploring sales.

Two weeks ago, we covered the first announced Major League Pickleball 2026 competition rules for the year.

Major League Pickleball 2026 announced updates to the competition structure, including more roster flexibility, winners at each regular season event, and updated regular season points standings.

And here we are, announcing updates two weeks later. There are quite a few updates to the competition structure. Let's get into them starting with the most important.

Major League Pickleball 2026: Consolidating to 20 Teams with No Level Designations

Yes, you read that right. No. More. Challenger.

All 20 teams participating will be playing in one league this year. No Challenger Level or Premier Level.

"But Erik, there were supposed to be 18 Premier Level teams and five Challenger Level teams this year. Where did the other three teams go?"

Great question.

The Nashville Chefs and DC Pickleball Team are finalizing sale agreements and are utilizing 2026 to execute those transactions. They are not participating in the MLP 2026 season.

The NY Hustlers are merging with the Brooklyn Pickleball Team, and I assume the Hustlers owners are being bought out or have taken on some equity in Brooklyn. A little gray area here, but essentially, the NY Hustlers won't exist moving forward.

Released Players in the Major League Pickleball 2026 Draft Pool

A clarification on rosters related to these moves: All signed UPA rostered players from the 2025 year for the NY Hustlers, Nashville Chefs, and DC Pickleball Team are dropped and will be available in the 2026 draft pool.

Major League Pickleball 2026 Event Details and Updates

As previously reported, all teams will participate in five of the nine events. However, the number of teams at each event has gone up given the increase to 20 teams in the league.

All events will have 11 teams, except Walt Disney, which will have 12 teams. At events with 11 teams, there will be one pool of five teams (four group play games) and one pool of six teams (five group play games).

Each team will play two events with a group of five teams and three events with a group of six teams. This means there will be 23 group play matches played by every team. If a team were to make it to Sunday at each of their five events, that team would end up playing 28 regular season matches.

Palm Beach Royals Expansion Details

The Palm Beach Royals are a new MLP expansion franchise this offseason, so two new rules for expansion franchises have been established. According to a recent Yahoo Sports profile on the team, the Royals are already preparing for the draft with several players already signed.

I made a post on X explaining this:

The Palm Beach Royals – Expansion Rules

⚠️⚠️ long-winded explanation ensuing

The Palm Beach Royals are MLP’s first expansion franchise since the start of the 2024 season. With team expansion, rules were created to allow for the Royals to enter MLP and hit the ground running.…
— Erik Tice (@azetice) January 31, 2026

First, Palm Beach can trade cash to a team for a player. This can be done for up to one man and one woman. The $200,000 maximum trade amount is still in effect per transaction.

The Palm Beach Royals' Major League Pickleball 2026 Roster Options

Secondly, and this is where it gets more complicated, the Royals can pick up to one man and one woman who are NOT currently on an MLP roster.

If a player was UPA signed and eligible for the 2025 draft, but ended 2025 NOT on an MLP roster, Palm Beach could claim them for a $10,000 keeper fee and keep them at that price for up to three years (think AJ Koller).

If a player was NOT eligible for the 2025 draft, but was signed since then, the Palm Beach Royals could claim them for an $80,000 keeper fee and keep them at that price for up to three years (think Sofia Sewing or any of the recently signed youth players).

In conclusion, there is a possibility of the Palm Beach Royals rostering up to four people (up to two men and two women) headed into the draft. All of these decisions need to be made by the Trade Window #1 deadline, on February 15th.

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Trade Window #1 and Keeper Deadline

February 15, 10am: Trade Window #1 Deadline

February 15, 4pm: Keepers are due

All keepers will be announced by the league within 24 hours, on Monday, the 16th. Teams cannot have more than 5 players after the keeper deadline. If a team can technically keep all six rostered players based on all the rules, they are still forced to drop at least one.

Draft Information

The Major League Pickleball 2026 Draft Structure

The draft process has reverted to the way it was done last year. All teams must have four (4) players before teams can start bidding on the 5th or 6th player.

Roster spots 1-4: minimum for a draft slot is $10k
Roster spots 5-6: minimum for a draft slot is $1k

One important note on this: teams cannot randomly select a player as a "sub" or 5th or 6th player. If a player is on a team's roster, they are deemed a top four player.

If a team has three men and one woman, they will be allowed to draft a woman in the first part of the draft (minimum of $10,000), even though they already have four rostered players. Basically everyone will be able to draft four starters before other teams can begin drafting the fifth and sixth players.

Cash for Players Is Now Allowed

For the first time in MLP history, during this offseason, players can be traded for cash. In the past, teams have always had to do a one-for-one trade, meaning one man is being traded for one man. This has always kept rosters even.

There are three different categories of teams that can pay cash to other teams in exchange for a player or players. According to Yahoo Sports, the league's record-setting financial growth has paved the way for new competitive innovations like this cash transaction rule in Major League Pickleball 2026.

The four teams (Bay Area, Las Vegas, Florida, and California) that were in Challenger Level last year (only have four players rostered) can give another team cash for a player. Any teams that do not have six players rostered, due to players not being UPA signed (Chicago, Atlanta, SoCal, etc.), are also eligible. And as previously mentioned, the Palm Beach Royals can also pay cash for up to one man and one woman, if they choose.

Of note, if a team receives cash for a player, they do not have to follow the rule to have three men and three women. They will get to six rostered players in the draft.

Keeping 2024 Draftees in Trade Window #1

Teams were told a rule headed into Trade Window #1. If a 2024 draftee is traded in Trade Window #1, they cannot be kept by the receiving team.

However, there are some team exemptions for this rule. Essentially, if a team ended the 2025 season with either zero or one 2024 drafted player, they can trade for a 2024 player and keep them for just 2026. This can be done for up to two roster spots.

The teams that are allowed to do this are Atlanta, Bay Area, Carolina, Chicago, Miami, Palm Beach, and SoCal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the new format for Major League Pickleball 2026?

Major League Pickleball 2026 is operating as a single unified 20-team league with no Challenger Level or Premier Level designations. All 20 teams compete in the same league, with each team participating in five of the nine scheduled events throughout the season.

Why aren't the Nashville Chefs and DC Pickleball Team playing in 2026?

Both franchises are in the process of finalizing sale agreements and are using the 2026 season to complete those transactions. As a result, they are not participating in MLP 2026, which reduced the total active teams from 23 to 20.

What are the Palm Beach Royals' special draft rights in the MLP 2026 season?

The Palm Beach Royals can trade cash for up to one man and one woman, and can also claim up to one man and one woman not currently on any MLP roster. Keeper fees are set at either $10,000 or $80,000 depending on whether the player was UPA-eligible in 2025, with a three-year price lock on any claimed players.

Can MLP teams now trade players for cash in the 2026 offseason?

Yes, for the first time in league history, certain teams can trade cash for players during this offseason. Teams eligible include the four former Challenger Level squads from 2025, any teams without a full six-player roster due to unsigned UPA players, and the Palm Beach Royals expansion franchise.

What happened to the NY Hustlers in Major League Pickleball 2026?

The NY Hustlers are merging with the Brooklyn Pickleball Team, effectively ending the Hustlers as a standalone franchise. All previously signed UPA players from the Hustlers, Nashville Chefs, and DC Pickleball Team have been dropped and placed into the 2026 draft pool.