Key Takeaways
- The three tournaments coming under RAF, Tulsa Nationals, Reno Worlds and the Kickoff Classic, draw more than 8,000 entries a year combined, per the release.
- Tulsa Nationals has run for more than seven decades and counts Olympic champions Kyle Snyder and Gable Steveson among its alumni.
- Shane Roller, an eight-time Tulsa Nationals champion and son of founder Jack Roller, keeps a central role after the deal.
- RAF, which launched its pro league in August 2025, now has a youth tournament series, a club program and a pro stage. Terms were not disclosed.
Real American Freestyle (RAF), the professional freestyle wrestling league that launched in August 2025, announced on November 5, 2026 an agreement to acquire World of Wrestling, the family-owned organization behind Tulsa Nationals, Reno Worlds and the Kickoff Classic. The World of Wrestling acquisition gives RAF three of the most established youth tournaments in the sport, which together attract more than 8,000 entries annually, according to the release. Financial terms were not disclosed, and RAF said additional details on the transaction and future plans will be announced in the coming months.
What RAF Is Buying in the World of Wrestling Acquisition
The centerpiece is Tulsa Nationals, which the release describes as an institution in American wrestling for more than seven decades. Champions take home the tournament’s eagle trophy, and the alumni list reads like a national team roster: Olympic gold medalists Kyle Snyder and Gable Steveson, Olympic and World medalists Spencer Lee, J’Den Cox and Thomas Gilman, and NCAA champions Bo Nickal and Zahid Valencia, per RAF.
Tulsa Nationals sits inside what World of Wrestling calls its Trinity series, alongside the Kickoff Classic and Reno Worlds, where wrestlers chase titles across all three events. The 2026-27 schedule stays intact: the Kickoff Classic in November, Tulsa Nationals in January and Reno Worlds in April, according to the release.
The Roller Family Stays at the Center
World of Wrestling was founded by the late Jack Roller, who the release credits with building its tournaments into national destinations for wrestling families. His son Shane Roller, an eight-time Tulsa Nationals champion, four-time Oklahoma state champion and three-time NCAA All-American at Oklahoma State, has run the organization since.
Under the agreement, World of Wrestling retains its tournament brands and traditions, and Shane and the Roller family continue in a central role, RAF said.
“We’re not coming in to change what makes World of Wrestling special,” said Chad Bronstein, CEO and Co-Founder of RAF. “We want to honor it, invest in it and help create even bigger opportunities for the next generation of wrestlers who come through those mats.”
Shane Roller framed the deal in similar terms. “When Chad and I started talking, it became clear that we shared that same passion,” he said. “RAF has built something incredible for professional wrestling, and together we have an opportunity to do even more for the next generation.”
How the Deal Fits RAF’s Youth-to-Pro Pathway
RAF was founded by Bronstein, Izzy Martinez and Eric Bischoff and positions itself as the first unscripted professional freestyle wrestling league. Its events stream exclusively on FOX Nation, and the company says each event generates more than 300 million social views.
Since the pro league launched, RAF has added RAF NEXT GEN, a national youth tournament series, and RAF CLUBS, a year-round training and development arm that includes club acquisition, per the release. World of Wrestling adds the most recognized youth tournament brands in the sport to that structure.
“A kid competing in Tulsa today could be an NCAA champion, an Olympian or an RAF champion tomorrow,” Bronstein said. “We want to build something that gives them a stage at every step of that journey.”
RAF and World of Wrestling also plan to grow the platform in the U.S. and explore international competition, according to the release.
Kickoff Classic This Month, Tulsa in January, Terms Still to Come
The deal puts 8,000 annual entries, a 70-year-old flagship event and a founding family inside a league that is barely 15 months old. The first read on how RAF handles the inheritance comes quickly: the Kickoff Classic runs this month, and Tulsa Nationals follows in January.
What RAF paid, and what it plans to build on top of the Trinity series, remains unannounced. The company said both will come in the coming months.
Source: Real American Freestyle press release, November 5, 2026, https://realamericanfreestyle.com
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How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
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Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
