NBA guard Gary Payton II, currently an unrestricted free agent, is creating a new professional skateboarding competition called the Skate Board Association (SBA), a coed, six-team street league scheduled to open next summer with a 10-game season in Big Bear Lake, California.
Payton, who last suited up for the Golden State Warriors, said he founded the SBA alongside partners Royce Campbell and Sheldon Lewis to give skateboarding the kind of structured, season-long calendar common in the NFL or NBA. “Growing up, the skate park was next to the basketball court,” he recalled. “I always wondered why skateboarding didn’t have its own league.”
The 32-year-old will serve as the league’s director of VIP relations and will own one of the six franchises. Each roster will feature six athletes—three women and three men—plus reserves and coaching staff, with identical salaries for both genders.
The SBA has already signed 18 skaters to non-exclusive contracts, including:
- 2020 Olympic silver medalist Kelvin Hoefler
- Manny Santiago, reigning SLS Select Series champion
- X Games street gold medalists Ryan Decenzo and Pamela Rosa
- Silver medalist Samarria Brevard
Instead of the traditional prize-purse model, riders will receive salaries, performance bonuses and a percentage of merchandise revenue. Top draft selections are set to earn six-figure deals; lower picks will make salaries in the mid–five figures. Payton said the league hopes to add at least 18 more athletes before hosting its first draft in Los Angeles at year’s end.
The SBA joins a wave of athlete-driven ventures aimed at bringing stability to Olympic and action sports. Snowboard icon Shaun White launched The Snow League in March, while four-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson debuted (and later shuttered) the Grand Slam Track series. The X Games League, pairing skateboarders with BMX riders on city-based squads, is slated for next summer.
The inaugural SBA campaign will run six months in the San Bernardino Mountains town of Big Bear, roughly two hours east of Los Angeles, with expansion to additional cities targeted for future seasons. “Big Bear has always welcomed altitude training and action sports,” said Travis Scott, CEO of Visit Big Bear. “We’re thrilled to host the SBA.”
Looking ahead, Payton envisions NBA-style amenities for skaters, including multiple venues, training centers and an annual draft combine. He also expects fellow professional athletes to join the ownership ranks. “A lot of football and basketball players grew up skating,” he noted. “Owning an SBA team lets them reconnect with that passion.”
Source: ESPN
