Last Updated on February 25, 2026 by Drew Pierce
The February 15th Major League Pickleball (MLP) keeper deadline delivered massive shocks as superstars Jorja Johnson (Dallas Flash) and Anna Bright (St. Louis Shock) were officially dropped to free agency. While these moves appear risky, they are calculated financial gambles to avoid massive keeper fees—which can exceed $300,000—in hopes of re-drafting the players at a lower market price. With 66 roster spots to fill, the February 27th free agency draft is now a high-stakes bidding war that could see prices for top women surpass $500,000, fundamentally shifting the league’s power balance.
If you thought last week was dramatic with Andre Agassi’s World Series announcement, hold onto your paddles—because the MLP keeper deadline just delivered some genuine shockers that have the entire professional pickleball community buzzing.
On Sunday, February 15th at 4pm ET, all 20 Major League Pickleball teams submitted their keeper lists for 2026. The announcements dropped Monday, and let me tell you: some of these decisions are absolutely wild. Let’s break down what happened, why it matters, and what it means for the February 27th free agency draft.
The Big Shockers: Jorja and Anna Bright Hit the Market
The two names dominating every pickleball group chat right now Jorja Johnson and Anna Bright.
Dallas Flash dropped Jorja Johnson. Read that again. The reigning MLP Regular Season MVP, a top-5 women’s player, and one-half of the sibling duo that’s been terrorizing mixed doubles—gone. Most analysts (myself included) predicted Dallas would drop Hurricane Tyra Black due to her being JW Johnson’s wife. Nope. They kept Tyra and dropped Jorja.
This is the pickleball equivalent of the Lakers trading Shaq or the Warriors letting Kevin Durant walk. You just don’t let MVP-caliber talent hit free agency unless you absolutely have to—or unless you have a secret plan to immediately draft them back at the auction.
St. Louis Shock dropped Anna Bright. The same Anna Bright who’s been paired with Anna Leigh Waters in women’s doubles with absurd dominance. The same Anna Bright who hasn’t lost a women’s doubles match in over five months. The same Anna Bright whose keeper fee was north of $300,000.
St. Louis did this exact move last year with Kate Fahey—dropped her, then spent big to get her right back in the draft. Are they running the same playbook? Almost certainly. But here’s the thing: everyone knows that’s the plan, which means other teams can drive up the bidding.
Why Teams Drop Star Players (Even When It Hurts)
Let me explain the economics here, because keeper fees in MLP are brutal.
Teams pay 50% of a player’s original draft price to keep them. So if you drafted someone for $200,000, keeping them costs $100,000. If you drafted them for $600,000 (which is what Anna Bright’s keeper fee suggests), you’re looking at $300,000+ just to retain them.
Here’s the strategy some teams use: Drop the expensive star, go into the free agency draft with that cash, and immediately bid to get them back. If you get them for less than the keeper fee would have been, you saved money. If someone outbids you, you at least have the cash to pivot to another top player.
It’s a high-risk, high-reward gamble. And when you’re dropping the league MVP or the #2 women’s player in the world, you’re betting your entire season on winning that bidding war.
The Other Surprise Drops Worth Noting
Columbus Sliders dropped Lea Jansen—and they didn’t even have to. Columbus won the championship last year and could have kept their entire core, but they chose to let Jansen go. Why? Maybe they’re planning to go after Bright or Johnson in the draft. Maybe there’s behind-the-scenes drama we don’t know about. Either way defending champions don’t usually make changes unless they think they can upgrade.
Phoenix Flames essentially dropped everyone except Jessie Irvine. This is a full rebuild. They’re clearing the decks financially and will likely target young, cheap talent in the draft. It’s either brilliant long-term thinking or a complete disaster—there’s no middle ground here.
New Jersey 5’s dropped both Meghan Dizon and Mari Humberg, keeping only Anna Leigh Waters among their women. This gives them maximum flexibility to go after Bright or Johnson. If New Jersey lands one of those two to pair with Anna Leigh? They’re instant championship favorites. If they strike out? They’re still probably fine with Dizon or Jansen as fallback options.
The Draft Strategy Chess Match
The free agency draft is Friday, February 27th at 10am ET, and the stakes have never been higher.
54 players were kept across 20 teams (26 women, 28 men). That means 66 roster spots need to be filled through the draft. And unlike last year, this draft features legitimate superstars.
Here’s how the draft structure works:
- The first 28 picks are dedicated to filling teams’ core four (first two women, first two men)
- The final 38 picks fill the 5th and 6th roster spots (bench players)
The first two picks will almost certainly be Jorja Johnson and Anna Bright. Full stop. These are MVP-caliber players in their prime. Every team that needs a starting woman will be bidding, and St. Louis/Dallas will be bidding against everyone else to get their own players back.
Last year’s top pick (Kate Fahey) went for big money, and she’s a tier below Bright and Johnson. Expect bidding to get absolutely insane. We could see $500K+ prices for these two, especially if teams with deep pockets decide to drive up costs just to hurt Dallas and St. Louis financially.
The Men’s Side: Depth But No Superstars
Here’s where it gets interesting. The best men available include:
- Dylan Frazier
- Tyson McGuffin
- Jack Sock
- Tyler Loong
- Zane Navratil (if New Jersey doesn’t immediately buy him back)
These are all solid to very good players. But none of them are Ben Johns or JW Johnson-level game-changers. The men’s player pool has good depth, meaning teams can find quality starters without breaking the bank.
This creates an interesting dynamic: teams will spend huge money on the top women, then look for value picks on the men’s side. Or conversely, a team could go cheap on women (targeting rising teenagers) and splurge on a veteran male presence.
The Teenager Strategy: High Risk, High Upside
One emerging strategy is to draft young, cheap talent and hope you find the next Hayden Patriquin or Jorja Johnson.
Players like Will MacKinnon, Andre Mercado, Cam Chaffin, Tama Shimabukuro, Kiora Kunimoto, Elsie Hendershot, and Jalina Ingram are all teenagers showing real promise on the PPA Tour. Players drafted in 2026 can be kept for up to three years, so if you snag a 16-year-old who develops into a star by year two, you’ve got them locked in at a bargain price.
Expect at least one or two teams—probably Phoenix and maybe Bay Area—to go full youth movement. Load up on teenagers, pay minimal salaries, accept being terrible in 2026, and hope the kids develop into contenders by 2027-2028.
It’s the NBA tanking strategy applied to pickleball. Will it work? Ask me in three years.
My Team-by-Team Predictions
Dallas Flash: Will bid HUGE to get Jorja back. If they fail, they’ll pivot to Anna Bright. If they get neither, their championship window just closed.
St. Louis Shock: Same strategy. Bid massive for Anna Bright. If someone outbids them, they’ll probably go after Jorja or settle for Kate Fahey again.
New Jersey 5’s: They dropped both women to create flexibility. Expect them to swing for the fences on either Bright or Johnson. Pairing either one with Anna Leigh Waters makes them instant favorites.
Columbus Sliders: Defending champs don’t usually make roster changes unless they’re upgrading. They’ll be in the mix for Bright or Johnson. If they land one, they’re back-to-back championship threats.
Phoenix Flames: Full rebuild around Jessie Irvine. Expect them to target teenagers and bargain veterans. They’re playing the long game.
Chicago Slice: Have Hunter Johnson and Zane Navratil but need two starting women. They’ll bid medium-high on whoever’s left after the top tier is gone.
What This Means for the Season
With 20 teams in a single tier (no more Challenger/Premier split), roster construction matters more than ever. Every team is fighting for playoff spots. There’s no “developing talent in Challenger” safety net.
The teams that nail this draft will be legitimate contenders. The teams that overpay or miss on their targets could be stuck in mediocrity for years because of those keeper fees stacking up.
And here’s the kicker: Trade Window #2 opens Monday, March 2nd, right after the draft. So teams that don’t like what happened can immediately start wheeling and dealing again.
The Bigger Picture: MLP is Growing Up
This keeper deadline drama shows that MLP is maturing as a league. We’re seeing actual salary strategy, cap management (sort of), and teams making tough financial decisions about superstars.
When Dallas has to choose between Jorja Johnson, JW Johnson, and Hurricane Tyra Black—and there’s no objectively right answer because all three are elite—that’s a sign the league has real talent depth.
When St. Louis is willing to drop a $300K+ keeper fee player and gamble on the open market, that’s a sign teams have real financial skin in the game.
When Columbus dumps a perfectly good player after winning a championship because they think they can upgrade, that’s a sign the competitive bar is rising.
This is what professional sports looks like. Tough decisions. Financial pressure. Stars changing teams. Fans getting emotionally invested in roster moves.
Looking Ahead to Friday
The draft is Friday, February 27th at 10am ET. It’ll be broadcast on PickleballTV. If you care about professional pickleball, you need to watch this.
We’re going to see teams spend absurd money on Bright and Johnson. We’re going to see at least one or two surprise picks that make everyone say “wait, WHAT?” We’re going to see teams execute strategies we didn’t even know they were planning.
And when it’s all over, we’ll have a much better idea of which teams are serious championship contenders and which teams are rebuilding for the future.
My prediction? St. Louis gets Anna Bright back for around $480K. New Jersey swoops in and steals Jorja Johnson for $510K. Dallas panics and overpays for Lea Jansen. Columbus sits back, lets the chaos unfold, and snags Meghan Dizon at a discount.
But honestly? I have no idea. That’s what makes this so fun.