Major League Pickleball’s Brooklyn Aces are growing, announcing a slew of well-known new investors that includes Drake, Michael B. Jordan, and Steve Stoute, among others. “It’s the idea of bringing people in that we could share in this with and utilize resources as the Aces evolve. Our investor group includes some of the savviest entrepreneurs in the business, and having this network on our cap table positions us to be successful,” Boardroom and 35V co-founder/CEO and Aces majority owner Rich Kleiman said. Along with some new faces, the Aces also revealed a new logo that will be featured in a new line of merchandise.

Boardroom’s Shlomo Sprung has the full details on the new-look Brooklyn Aces, including the full list of new investors.

The Barbie hype is real, and we’ve got the projected numbers to prove it. The feature film directed by Greta Gerwig finally makes its theatrical debut this weekend, and Deadline is reporting that ticket presales are not only exceeding sales of all other films this year but that the flick could soon rival advance passes of 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. For context, that project debuted at $134 million. We can’t forget — how could we? — Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer also drops in theatres Friday, and early numbers suggest 200,000 people will attend same-day showings of Barbie and Oppenheimer at theaters across North America.

Like Carolina QBs before him, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NFL Draft is already getting acclimated to his city’s franchise restaurant. Panthers QB Bryce Young has entered a partnership with Bojangles, the Carolinas-based fast food chain revered for its chicken and biscuits, it was announced Wednesday. As he works to get in shape ahead of his rookie campaign, the 21-year-old lauded the food’s preparation and quality as catalysts to helping him bulk up. Let’s hope the brand will offer an incentive following Young’s first-ever win with the NFC South team.

Jay-Z just added another accomplishment to an already lengthy list of accolades. RIAA recently revised its list of certifications and it determined that The Blueprint 3 is officially double platinum and The Black Album has gone 4x platinum, giving the Brooklyn native a total of 33.5 million domestic album sales. With that distinction, it officially makes Hov the first Black male recording artist and rapper with at least 10 multi-platinum albums. Jay-Z’s other multi-platinum solo projects include Magna Carta… Holy Grail, 4:44, Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life, Kingdom Come, and more.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and his energy drink brand ZOA Energy welcomed seven college athletes into the brand’s inaugural NIL class. Coined “The Rock’s Warriors,” the prominent actor and retired wrestler hand-picked the group of football, softball, and basketball players to appear in ZOA-branded social media posts and participate in national and regional retail partnerships and philanthropic events. The ZOA inaugural NIL class includes LSU’s Angel Reese; Georgia’s Brock Bowers; North Carolina’s Drake Maye; Austin Peay’s Hansel Enmanuel; FAMU’s Amaya Gainer; Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr.; and Miami’s Kam Kinchens. 

Boardroom’s Russell Steinberg has more details on ZOA’s inaugural NIL class.

US Soccer and Visa announced a five-year partnership extension ahead of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Visa will remain the official payment services partner of both US national soccer teams through 2028. With the refreshed partnership, the brand promised that 50% of its investment would be allocated to the women’s national team, which includes financially backing some women-focused soccer initiatives and programs.

For more on the USWNT ahead of the World Cup, be sure to check out all of Boardroom’s coverage.

Netflix officially discontinued its cheapest ad-free subscription plan in the US and UK after seeing an uptick in 5.9 million new global subscribers in the second quarter of the year. The streaming service’s former basic subscription cost $9.99 a month. Now, Netflix’s standard subscription with ads costs $6.99 a month, while the cheapest ad-free option costs $15.49 a month. The company removed the basic plan for new or rejoining users in the US and UK; current subscribers can stick with the plan unless they make changes or cancel it. Netflix also said on its recent earnings call that it will continue its password crackdown in hopes of driving more new subscribers.