Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov becomes part-owner of Major League Pickleball team

Aleksander Barkov has seen as much success as anyone in the last few seasons, captaining the Florida Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and three straight Final appearances. The Finnish center has also won the Selke Trophy three times, twice in the last two years, and is on his way to what may end up being a Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy career.

Now you can add a part-owner of a Major League Pickleball team to the list.

The Palm Beach Royals announced Tuesday that Barkov, along with U.S. Open tennis champion Bianca Andreescu, Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore II and retired NBA power forward Tyler Hansbrough, are part-owners of the newest MLP franchise.

The team, which will debut in 2026, was announced last month, setting a “record-high valuation” for an MLP expansion team at $16 million.

The group, led by Zach Hunter and Taylor Meyer, former NCAA tennis teammates at the University of North Carolina, spoke with Sports Business Journal (SBJ) to share details on the team, which will debut in 2026.

“Fifteen million dollars was actually the initial target we had in our term sheet, and we could raise up to $16 million if it did go oversubscribed. It sold out far quicker than we thought.”

According to SBJ, the ownership group includes business leaders outside the sports world, including Ultimate Software founder Scott Scherr, Advertising Week CEO Lance Pillersdorf and Lyrical Partners founder Jeff Keswin.

As for Barkov, he’s coming off a 2024-25 campaign where he scored 20 goals and recorded 51 assists for 71 points in just 67 regular-season games. In 23 Stanley Cup Playoff games last spring, the 30-year-old recorded six goals and 16 assists for 22 points, leading the Panthers to its second straight championship.