Xp League

Every parent of a young gamer has faced the same quiet dilemma: their child is passionate, competitive, and deeply engaged in video games, yet the traditional youth sports infrastructure offers no formal pathway to channel that energy constructively. XP League was built to solve exactly that problem. Founded in September 2020 by Jay Melamed and headquartered initially in Raleigh, North Carolina, XP League launched its franchise model in the same year it opened its doors, moving with rare urgency in the franchise world. The brand structures youth esports leagues using the same competitive framework parents recognize from soccer, baseball, and basketball — seasonal schedules, coached practices, organized matches, and culminating championship events — applied to the video games children are already playing. By 2024, XP League had grown to 43 total units across the United States and Canada, with 41 franchised locations and 2 company-owned units, establishing itself as a first-mover in the formalized youth esports franchise category. In spring 2022, the brand was acquired by Unleashed Brands, a youth enrichment platform founded by Michael O. Browning Jr. that also owns Class 101, The Little Gym, Premier Martial Arts, Snapology, and Urban Air Adventure Park, making XP League the fifth acquisition Unleashed Brands completed in less than a year. Then, in December 2025, Valhallan — a youth-focused esports training academy led by CEO Morris Jackson and COO Andrew Aultman — acquired XP League, creating what both companies describe as the largest unified youth esports academy in North America, combining over 50 locations across 20 states. For franchise investors evaluating this opportunity, understanding that XP League sits at the intersection of a rapidly growing esports market and the proven demand for structured youth enrichment programs is the essential starting point. This analysis provides independent, data-driven intelligence to answer the core question serious investors are asking: is the XP League franchise opportunity worthy of capital commitment?

The youth esports and broader esports industry is one of the fastest-scaling entertainment categories on record. The global esports market was projected to reach $3 billion by 2025, representing a compound annual growth rate of 15% from 2020, a trajectory that significantly outpaces the growth rates of most traditional youth sports sectors. Beyond the headline market figure, the esports industry has already crossed the $1 billion threshold in annual revenue, positioning it as a legitimate rival to established traditional sports leagues in terms of audience engagement and commercial infrastructure. What makes the youth segment particularly compelling for franchise investors is the demographic tailwind: Generation Alpha, the cohort born after 2010, is the first generation to grow up with esports as a mainstream cultural reference point, not a niche subculture. Parents across the income spectrum are actively searching for structured, values-driven environments where their children can engage competitively with gaming under qualified coaching supervision — the same parental demand that built the $6 billion youth sports industry over several decades. Consumer behavior data supports this shift; families that previously enrolled children in after-school sports programs are increasingly considering esports leagues as equivalent developmental activities. The market for youth esports remains relatively fragmented at the franchise level, meaning early-stage franchisors like XP League face limited direct competition from other nationally organized, franchise-based youth esports leagues, creating a window for territorial consolidation that resembles the early years of youth martial arts and gymnastics franchise categories. The secular tailwinds — rising screen time normalization, expanding collegiate esports scholarship programs, and growing parental acceptance of gaming as a skill-building activity — all compound the long-term franchise investment thesis for a brand operating in this space. XP League's strategic positioning within Unleashed Brands and now under Valhallan's operational leadership reflects a calculated effort to capitalize on this window before the market matures and competition intensifies.

The XP League franchise cost structure offers multiple entry points designed to accommodate investors with different capital positions and operating preferences. The initial franchise fee is $35,000, a figure that remains consistent across available disclosure sources, with a 10% veteran discount reducing that fee to $33,250 for qualifying military veterans — a meaningful incentive in a franchise category that actively recruits community-oriented operators. The total initial investment varies significantly depending on the format chosen, which is a critical nuance for prospective investors to understand. The XP League Mobile Franchise format carries a total investment range of approximately $82,650 to $110,800, making it the most accessible entry point in the system. The XP League Center format, which involves a physical brick-and-mortar location, requires a total investment between $190,750 and $332,000, reflecting leasehold improvement costs of $50,000 to $108,000, architectural and construction management fees of $12,000 to $17,500, signage costs of $10,000 to $20,000, and an initial inventory and equipment package of $28,000 to $35,000, in addition to the base franchise fee. An Affiliated Division Franchise format sits in the middle, with a total investment range of $97,550 to $146,100. The ongoing royalty fee is 8% of gross sales, a rate that sits above the 5% to 6% range common in food and service franchises but is consistent with youth enrichment franchise categories where corporate support in curriculum, coaching, and tournament management is more intensive. An advertising or national brand fund contribution of up to 5% applies over time, though disclosure language on this fee varies across sources. Liquid capital requirements of $75,000 are cited in multiple sources, with net worth requirements ranging from $250,000 to $750,000 depending on the format and territory. XP League offers financing support for initial franchise fees, and the mobile franchise format's sub-$111,000 total investment ceiling makes it a realistic candidate for SBA-backed lending programs that favor low-overhead, service-based franchise models. Compared to youth enrichment franchises requiring $300,000 or more in total investment, the XP League mobile format represents a relatively accessible entry into a high-growth category.

Daily operations for an XP League franchise owner center on a nine-week seasonal structure that mirrors traditional youth sports programming: one practice and one match per week per team, led by a coach who simultaneously focuses on gameplay improvement and the development of resiliency, teamwork, and sportsmanship. The labor model is intentionally lean — franchisees are not required to operate large physical facilities with full-time staff rosters, particularly in the mobile format, where the league can be hosted in community centers, school facilities, or partner locations. Coaching staff can be sourced through partnerships with professional esports athletes from local colleges, creating a pipeline of qualified, credentialed coaches who serve as both role models and technical instructors for youth players. XP League's corporate support infrastructure includes a team development kit to help new franchisees launch their league quickly, proven marketing and launch plans, branded gear and team logos, and exclusive merchandise partnerships with top esports brands. Tournament management is handled through the corporate office, removing a significant operational burden from individual franchise owners and ensuring consistency in competitive experience across the system. Franchisees gain access to the League Commissioner network, coaching guides, ongoing webinars covering industry trends, hands-on coaching support for specific operational challenges, and virtual meetings for strategic communication with the corporate team. Territory protection is a structural feature of the franchise agreement — each franchisee receives a defined geographic area where no other XP League franchise is permitted to operate, a protection that supports market development and minimizes internal competition. Franchisees have flexibility in choosing league sizes, locations, and operating hours, giving owner-operators meaningful control over their business cadence. The franchise also provides access to regional events and the North American Finals, which serves as a major brand-building and community engagement asset for individual franchise owners.

Item 19 financial performance data is not disclosed in the current Franchise Disclosure Document for XP League, meaning the franchisor has elected not to publish average revenue, median revenue, top-quartile earnings, or profit margin data in its official disclosure filings. This is not uncommon among younger franchise systems — XP League began franchising in 2020, and many brands in their first five years of franchising have limited system-wide performance data that meets the legal and statistical thresholds required for confident Item 19 disclosure. The absence of Item 19 data places a higher burden on prospective franchisees to conduct independent validation by speaking directly with existing and former franchisees, a step that the FTC-mandated franchise disclosure process explicitly facilitates through the franchisee contact list included in the FDD. What the available evidence does suggest about unit economics is encouraging in structural terms: franchisee testimonials consistently reference minimal overhead costs as a defining feature of the business model, particularly for mobile format operators who avoid the fixed costs associated with leases, build-outs, and facility maintenance. Glenn Howard, who opened his XP League franchise in San Antonio in fall 2023, highlighted the community engagement dimensions of the business, while J.D. Uhler in Madison, Wisconsin, described the product as professional-level and noted strong receptivity from parents and community organizations — signals of demand quality rather than demand quantity. The mobile format's total investment ceiling of approximately $110,800, combined with an 8% royalty on gross sales and lean staffing requirements, creates a cost structure that does not require extremely high revenue volumes to achieve positive cash flow relative to other franchise categories. Investors should note that the esports youth enrichment market is still maturing, and revenue trajectories at the unit level will depend heavily on local market density, franchisee marketing execution, and the competitive environment for youth activities in the specific territory.

XP League's unit growth trajectory tells a story of rapid early expansion followed by strategic consolidation. The brand launched and began franchising simultaneously in September 2020, reaching more than 40 locations by late 2022 — a remarkable pace for a franchise that did not exist before the COVID-19 pandemic. By 2024, the system had 43 total units, with 41 franchised and 2 company-owned, and the combined entity post-Valhallan acquisition reports over 50 locations across 20 states as of December 2025. The recognition from Entrepreneur magazine's 2022 list of fastest-growing franchises provided third-party validation of the brand's momentum during its critical early expansion phase. The December 2025 acquisition by Valhallan, with CEO Morris Jackson taking operational control of competitive operations, league structure, and season planning, represents the most significant strategic development in the brand's history — transforming XP League from a standalone youth esports franchisor into the competitive league arm of a larger youth esports training platform. This integration creates structural competitive advantages that did not previously exist: Valhallan's training centers and curriculum combined with XP League's competitive league system and franchise network produces a vertically integrated youth esports organization that is significantly harder to replicate than either component independently. The North American Finals, hosted at Full Sail University for three consecutive years with the 2024 event scheduled for June 28 through 30, serves as an annual brand centerpiece that drives national awareness and local franchisee recruitment simultaneously. In June 2022, XP League hosted the largest in-person youth esports tournament on the continent at Full Sail University, involving 48 teams and drawing 10,000 viewers through streaming platforms — a demonstration of audience reach that most youth enrichment franchise concepts cannot match. The partnership with Gameplan to bring esports education to youth leagues across North America further extends the brand's reach beyond its direct franchise footprint.

The ideal XP League franchisee is not necessarily someone with a background in esports or gaming — the brand's most compelling franchise stories involve parents motivated by their children's positive experiences with the league rather than career gamers looking to monetize their skills. Nick and Dana Badraun in Colorado signed a franchise agreement in May 2023 after observing the positive behavioral and social impact XP League had on their son, a pattern that appears consistently across the franchisee base and suggests the brand attracts operators with genuine community investment rather than purely financial motivation. Successful franchisees will benefit from strong local network ties, comfort with youth-facing programming, and the organizational skills to manage seasonal schedules across multiple teams and locations. The mobile franchise format is well-suited for owner-operators who want to control their time investment and scale incrementally, while the center format demands the capital and management bandwidth associated with a physical facility. Available territories exist across the United States and Canada, with the brand's post-Valhallan structure now covering 20 states, leaving meaningful white space in markets where youth gaming populations are growing but organized esports programming remains absent. Justin "Jay" Hairston's appointment as Director of Special Programs in September 2022, focused specifically on developing virtual esports programs, signals that the brand is actively expanding its programming infrastructure to serve a wider range of franchisee operating models and geographic contexts. The franchise agreement provides territory exclusivity, meaning franchisees who move quickly in high-potential markets gain a protected position that becomes increasingly valuable as the youth esports category matures and demand for organized programming grows.

For franchise investors conducting serious due diligence, the XP League franchise opportunity presents a genuinely distinctive profile: a first-mover youth enrichment franchise operating in a $3 billion global esports market growing at 15% annually, backed by a multi-brand youth enrichment platform and now integrated into a larger operational structure under Valhallan's leadership, with an accessible mobile format entry point below $111,000 in total investment and physical center formats capping at $332,000. The absence of Item 19 financial performance disclosure is a legitimate due diligence flag that requires direct franchisee validation, but the structural economics of a lean, mobile-capable service franchise with territory protection and a nine-week seasonal operating model are objectively favorable relative to food and retail franchise categories that carry significantly higher overhead burdens. The brand's recognition by Entrepreneur magazine, its consecutive-year championship events at Full Sail University, and its 50-plus location footprint across North America all point to a franchise system that has moved beyond concept validation into operational maturity. The December 2025 merger with Valhallan may represent the most important variable in the investment thesis — the combined entity's ability to execute as the largest unified youth esports academy in North America will determine whether XP League accelerates toward 100-plus units or encounters the integration challenges that accompany rapid corporate consolidation. PeerSense provides exclusive due diligence data including SBA lending history, FPI score, location maps with Google ratings, FDD financial data, and side-by-side comparison tools that allow investors to benchmark the XP League franchise cost, royalty structure, and unit economics against comparable youth enrichment and esports franchise opportunities with a rigor that no single source can match independently. Explore the complete XP League franchise profile on PeerSense to access the full suite of independent franchise intelligence data.