Why 2026 is the Year of Alternative Sports

In this episode of the GaryVee Audio Experience, I talk about the explosion of alternative sports and why every league - UFC, pickleball, wiffle ball, padel - started as a side conversation before it became the thing. I share why technology is undefeated in the end and why patience beats short-term noise every time. I also discuss my dream of buying the New York Jets and moving them to Queens, and how a teenager or a 60-year-old with a passion can build a league on social media today. You'll learn about: • The Rise Of Alternative Sports • Why Technology Is Undefeated • Patience Over Short-Term Noise • Building A League On Social Media

• 0:00Speaker 00

  This is the Gary Vee Audio Experience.

• 0:04Speaker 01

  Do you know how many times ESPN talked about LeBron not winning a title yet? And then he did.

• 0:08Speaker 02

  Alternative sports is exploding and one of the latest examples is Big League Wiffle Ball. The New York Green Apples just became the first ever Big League Wiffle World Series Champions, defeating the Dallas Pandas in Florida last week. Joining us now is one of the team's investors. He's here to talk about the rise of alternative sports and much more from AI to media and collectibles. Gary Vaynerchuk, VaynerMedia's CEO and VaynerX Chairman. Great to see you, Gary.

• 0:33Speaker 01

  Always great to see you. Good morning.

• 0:35Speaker 02

  So much fun, this idea of Major League Wiffle Ball. My one disappointment in looking into it is you don't actually use a lawn chair for the stretch lawn. But I mean, how long has it been around? What's the business model of the league?

• 0:49Speaker 01

  I mean, the business model of the league is the business model of every league, right? Which is ultimately, you want to build enough demand that you get significant TV rights to become exclusive, sponsorship. None of these alternative sports are creating any kind of new business model per se. Obviously, esports does some stuff, but I mean, look, we've all lived through watching UFC be a side conversation to a huge sport. I think people forget, the 1982 NBA Finals, there was games that were taped delay because the NBA was in that position. Even pro football, not too long ago, Super Bowl I did not sell out its tickets. So you have a teenage founder for this Wiffle Ball league who had an idea and was grinding for several years and then caught enough attention for people like me, Lazary, Blitzer,

• 1:34Speaker 01

  real investors, real thought leaders, real operators. And this last season crushed ratings on ESPN2. What you were seeing there was Will Smithy, the greatest Wiffle Ball player in the world. And you know, stuff like me being on this and people start to dig in and slowly but surely, like every league that has ever been created, becomes. The thing that people are missing is we all grew up where cable and TV were the only options. And then you got satellite, but now we're in full pledge streaming and you've got YouTube TV. And I was an early investor in pickleball, which has done incredibly well. Major League Pickleball teams now sell for tens of millions of dollars, has a real following. You have Anna Lee Waters, like real fame in the league.

• 2:17Speaker 01

  And they can now make it because you can win on a small streaming service or social media and then build your way up to your ESPN deal, your Paramount deal, Netflix deal. And I think that Wiffle Ball, Sailing League I'm involved in, Padell, all of these things have a real shot.

• 2:35Speaker 02

  Apple TV has a TV show about a former pickleball player now.

• 2:39Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 2:40Speaker 02

  Right? They're turning it into like the Ted Lasso of pickleball.

• 2:43Speaker 01

  That's right. And you know, for me, I think, you know, I aspired to buy the New York Jets. I don't know if you've heard, but these teams in the big leagues are starting to get really expensive.

• 2:53Speaker 02

  What?

• 2:53Speaker 01

  Yeah, yeah. So I've got real work to do, but I think one of the ways I do that is by building out my portfolio. But Logan Rose and kids like that are, or a 60-year-old that has a passion could start a league, you build on social media and you could be stunned where this could go.

• 3:11Speaker 03

  But how much of a correlation is there to the higher valuations you see in traditional sports? We've been talking all week about the Lakers at $13 billion with the alternative sports world. This idea that there is so much capital flowing into the sports space, there's not enough supply of places to put it. Therefore, you're able to support maybe under the radar, less well-known sports in the process.

• 3:36Speaker 01

  Is the argument, when you say nowhere to put it, I just want to make sure I fully understand you.

• 3:40Speaker 03

  Well, they're just scarcity value of traditional sports.

• 3:43Speaker 01

  Oh, yeah, for sure. And like, even when I was a kid and like wanted to buy a team, these were like hundreds of millions of dollars. Obviously, capital, everyone that watches this knows there's a lot more money in the system, but of course. And even if that wasn't the case, you know, I didn't go into the fives and Major League Pickleball or Big League Wiffle because like, oh darn, I can't get the Jets. I'm going to get the Jets. I went into it.

• 4:11Speaker 02

  Are you gonna get the Jets?

• 4:12Speaker 01

  I'm gonna get the Jets.

• 4:12Speaker 02

  Okay, so let's talk about the Jets.

• 4:15Speaker 01

  Please.

• 4:16Speaker 02

  All right, so Woody Johnson and his brother buy the Jets for 700 million dollars in the year 2000.

• 4:21Speaker 01

  I'm impressed.

• 4:22Speaker 02

  The LA Lakers reportedly being sold for 12 and a half billion. That's a basketball team, Gary.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  Yes, I heard.

• 4:28Speaker 02

  So CNBC listed valuation of the New York Jets, J-E-T-S, at $9.1 billion last year. That's about a billion a win.

• 4:38Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 4:39Speaker 02

  Sorry, I had to do it.

• 4:40Speaker 01

  By the way, I'll take nine wins.

• 4:42Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 4:45Speaker 02

  Not for a year.

• 4:46Speaker 01

  No, no, no, don't take it back.

• 4:48Speaker 02

  I'm sorry, I have to say, I'm the Chargers fan, okay? Let me ask you this, if you were to buy the Jets today, what would they go for? Because if the Lakers were 12 and a half or the Jets were 20?

• 4:58Speaker 01

  I think they could get it. I mean, now that the Jets... But here's what happened, fractionalization happened. They've allowed PE. I mean, by the way, let's like make this very valuable for everybody. This is what's about to happen with all assets. All assets are about to get fractionalized because the blockchain's about to change the world.

• 5:14Speaker 02

  Is it because the blockchain's about to change the world or do we need so much capital to get toward AI compute? We were talking about that all week.

• 5:21Speaker 01

  Because the blockchain's gonna change the world. You're right, they'll change, yes, that's the minor thing. The macro thing is within a decade on this incredible platform, what we're gonna see is there's going to be an ability for small businesses to transact. When Rick Thompson has four pizza shops in Iowa and can get liquidity because there's an incredibly easy way for him to transact and we have laws in place that allow for it and this incredible technology that continues to get misunderstood because of the cynicism of crypto and NFTs, people don't understand the macro.

• 5:53Speaker 03

  But we've been hearing that for a long time, this idea that illiquid assets will be disintermediated by the blockchain. But it hasn't happened yet.

• 6:00Speaker 01

  Sure. This show also in 2003 asked someone like me, like, we've been hearing about the internet, why hasn't it happened yet? Because we talk about stuff at nausea before it hits maturity. Do you know how many times ESPN talked about LeBron not winning a title yet? And then he did. We are incredibly impatient. We like to talk about short-term things. And the reality is, is anybody who's got a long view and who understands consumer behavior and technology, now, I guess the government, I mean, we have a very interesting political spectrum. So if it swings too hard and it becomes politicized, it could slow it down, but technology's undefeated in the end.

• 6:36Speaker 02

  The other thing that's certainly propping up or expanding the value and opportunity in sports is betting. I mean, can you bet on these alternative sports?

• 6:45Speaker 01

  I think these sports, the answer is I don't believe so. I'm sure, I mean, listen, I don't know if you've heard about Polly Marketing, you could bet on him sneezing in the next minute, but...

• 6:54Speaker 02

  Yeah, but I could make that happen. That doesn't mean you can't bet on it. I could affect the outcome.

• 6:59Speaker 01

  Which is why...

• 7:00Speaker 02

  Am I making the bet?

• 7:01Speaker 01

  Which is why all of that is gonna be a very, very challenging thing to navigate for all of us in society, regulation. The leagues, I would say that Major League Pickle is the kind of league that within two or three years, I could see a FanDuel or DraftKings or Fanatics bet come along and say, hey, this thing's ready. And then you gotta put in all the checks and balances. I'm undereducated on what those checks and balances are, but I know that the threshold, when I look at the platforms, when I'm studying behavior, you gotta get to a certain point to get in.

• 7:33Speaker 04

  This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web. Like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block. Or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required. Compatibility and availability varies 18 plus.

• 7:58Speaker 05

  You think 20 billion, maybe not 20 billion for the Jets. Realistically though, Gary, if the Lakers are gonna sell for 12 and a half, and CNBC values the Jets at 9.1 billion, what would realistically an NFL franchise be worth today? Not the Cowboys.

• 8:11Speaker 01

  What do the Seahawks just go for, 9?

• 8:12Speaker 05

  9 or 10.

• 8:13Speaker 01

  I think the Jets are 15. I do.

• 8:15Speaker 05

  Because of the New York media market?

• 8:17Speaker 01

  They also don't.

• 8:18Speaker 05

  They have a terrible stadium.

• 8:19Speaker 01

  But they also own half of it.

• 8:20Speaker 05

  Yeah, the stadium.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  Right? So it might be a terrible stadium because they tried to appease both and they appeased no one. But they still own, you know, the stadium, you know? The cool thing is when I was, I was born in the Soviet Union. When I came to America, I came to Queens. And the thought that, and I have a crazy story because of what my mom knitted me a Jets jersey. It's really cool, but we don't have time for that. When I buy the Jets, and I'm a Jersey voice, this is challenging for me, but I do dream about moving them to Queens. Everybody, if you enjoyed this podcast, please go back and look at the prior episodes. They're loaded. I appreciate your attention and thanks for being part of this journey. See you later.

• 8:58Speaker 06

  Your sausage McMuffin with egg didn't change. Your receipt did. The sausage McMuffin with egg extra value meal includes a hash brown and a small coffee for just $5. Only at McDonald's for a limited time.

• 9:11Speaker 07

  Price and participation may vary. Promotion pricing may be lower than meal pricing.