NBA free agent Gary Payton II is flipping the game and this time it is on a skateboard.
He just launched The Skate Board Association, a professional league that is all about giving skateboarders the recognition and cash they deserve.
According to reports, the league is coed with six teams and is planning a 10-game season next summer in Big Bear Lake, California.
Payton grew up skating as much as hooping. He said the skate park was right next to the basketball court. He would be on his board with his friends and then hit the court to hoop.
That love for skating stuck with him and when his partners Royce Campbell and Sheldon Lewis pitched the idea for a pro league he knew it had to happen. He said why has no one done this before and why isn’t there a league like the NBA for skateboarding.
He is not just the face of the league he is owning one of the six teams and handling VIP relations. Each team has six athletes three men and three women plus reserves and coaches. Payton made sure everyone gets equal pay.
The league is not doing the usual prize-purse thing. Every skater gets a salary bonuses and even a cut of merchandise sales. Top picks are pulling six figures and even the lower picks are getting solid money.
They have already locked in 18 skaters including Olympic silver medalist Kelvin Hoefler, pro skater Manny Santiago and X Games gold medalists Ryan Decenzo and Pamela Rosa.
Silver medalist Samarria Brevard said the league is giving skaters stability they have never had before. She said it is a game changer.
The professional basketball player wants more skaters before the draft in Los Angeles later this year. The league is part of a bigger wave of athletes creating their own paths and leagues to give action sports pros a proper platform.
Earlier this year Shaun White dropped The Snow League and Michael Johnson tried his own track league. The X Games League is also rolling out next summer.
Big Bear is the perfect spot for the first season with altitude training and a solid skate community. Payton sees it growing into a multi-city league with training facilities and a draft combine giving skateboarders respect and pay on par with other pro athletes.
He said these skaters are putting their bodies on the line more than most athletes out there and they deserve it.
Payton also sees other pro athletes buying in as owners. Tons of basketball and football players skated growing up and this gives them a chance to come back to it.
He said owning an SBA team is like playing Tony Hawk Pro Skater in real life you pick the athletes pick the brands and build your crew. He said skateboarding connects people in a way nothing else does.
With The Skate Board Association Gary Payton II is not just making a league he is making sure skaters get paid get respect and get a place to shine year-round.
He is taking the love he had as a kid and turning it into a real deal platform for the next generation.