Andre Agassi is bringing the dancing bears to the pickleball court.

Agassi Sports Entertainment, the racket sports company Agassi co-founded, announced Nov. 5 that its subsidiary Agassi Sports Licensing LLC signed a merchandise licensing agreement with Rhino Entertainment, a Warner Music Group company, to develop and sell Grateful Dead-branded pickleball and padel merchandise, according to a company news release.

The collection will lean on the band’s best-known imagery, including the dancing bears and the “Stealie” logo, and could carry the Agassi logo too. The company says the lineup may include equipment, accessories, apparel and hydration products, and it has signed a separate manufacturing agreement to produce and distribute it. The plan is to sell worldwide, both direct-to-consumer and through select wholesale partners. No financial terms were disclosed.

“Pickleball has become a true cultural crossover sport,” Ron Boreta, the company’s CEO and co-founder, said in the release. Agassi went a step further: “Nobody understands building a community around something people love more than the Grateful Dead.”

Anyone who has watched the same crew show up for 7 a.m. open play every morning for three years might argue our sport already has its own Deadheads.

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As K104.7 pointed out, the Grateful Dead toured for 30 years and played more than 2,300 concerts, and its artwork already shows up on clothing, shoes and lifestyle goods from other consumer brands. Pickleball and padel are simply the newest aisles in the store.

The deal is the latest move for Agassi Sports Entertainment, which trades under the ticker AASP and is built around the brands of Agassi and Stefanie Graf. In August, the company launched “Let’s Play,” an effort to build a worldwide network of pickleball and padel clubs through acquisitions, partnerships and franchising, starting in Germany with Graf and in Australia with coach Darren Cahill.

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Agassi’s name is already on pickleball gear, including JOOLA’s Agassi Pro V paddle, and he teamed up with Anna Leigh Waters at the pickleball US Open in 2025. The company’s own release is upfront that it is still early days, listing its limited operating history and lack of significant revenues among the risks to its plans.

Products are expected to start rolling out in mid-2027, with pricing and specifics coming closer to launch. No word yet on whether any of the paddles will make a dink rally last as long as a “Dark Star” jam.

Sources: Stock Titan