Product Update

Is 9 Strap Still in Business? (2026 Update)

Is 9 Strap from Shark Tank still around in 2026? Its on-air agreement, what happened afterward, and current ordering options.

Shark Tank Index TeamJanuary 6, 20266 min read

Ryan and Alyson Vaughn walked into Season 17 with a strap designed to keep both hands locked onto a bat through a swing, and they walked out with something that almost never happens in the Tank: four sharks on one deal. If you found this page wondering whether 9 Strap made it past the TV moment, the early signs say yes, and by a wide margin.

The Short Answer

9 Strap is still in business and, as of 2026, still growing. The product does not sell on Amazon, running instead through its own direct website and expanding retail relationships tied to youth and adult sports leagues.

Given this is a Season 17 pitch, it is still early days for long-term financial verification, but the operational signs, expanded product lines, a large user base, and continued media coverage, all point the same direction.

The Shark Tank Pitch

9 Strap appeared in Season 17, Episode 16, pitching a training strap that keeps both hands connected to a bat during a swing, aimed at helping baseball and softball players build cleaner mechanics and avoid the shoulder strain that can come from a one-handed follow-through. It falls under sports and outdoors.

Founders Ryan and Alyson Vaughn asked for 360,000 dollars in exchange for 9 percent equity, a modest ask relative to what they ultimately walked away with.

The Deal That Got Done

Four sharks joined the deal together: Kevin O'Leary, Rashaun Williams, Kendra Scott, and Daniel Lubetzky. Combined, they put up 800,000 dollars, more than double the original ask, for 20 percent equity, a larger stake than the Vaughns initially offered but backed by a much bigger check.

Press coverage around the episode described it as the first four-shark deal of Season 17, a genuinely rare outcome. Getting even one shark to commit is a win. Getting four to split a single deal signals that every one of them saw something in the product and the category, and it built the Vaughns a broad bench of backers with very different networks, from consumer products to sports and entertainment connections.

9 Strap net worth in 2026

There is no independently audited net worth or valuation figure publicly available for 9 Strap as of 2026, which is typical for a company just one season removed from its Shark Tank appearance. What is reported, through the company and coverage of the deal, is a user base of over 50,000 and a product return rate under 1 percent, both of which point to a healthy, low-churn product rather than a fad that customers are sending back. Until the company has more history and financial disclosures, any specific dollar valuation beyond the deal terms themselves would be speculation rather than a sourced figure.

Growing Past Baseball

What has happened since the episode aired is a broadening of both the product line and the sports it targets. 9 Strap started as a baseball and softball training tool, but the company has since expanded the strap's use into golf, tennis, pickleball, and even cricket, chasing the same core mechanic problem across sports where a clean two-handed grip through a swing matters.

The brand has also built out merchandise around the core product, including bat grips, hats, and shirts, turning a single-SKU training tool into more of a lifestyle brand for players and parents in youth sports. That kind of category expansion, both in sport and in product line, is usually a sign a company is trying to build durable revenue streams rather than ride out a single viral product cycle.

Where Things Stand Now

9 Strap pitched in Season 17 asking for 360,000 dollars for 9 percent, and walked away with a four-shark deal worth 800,000 dollars for 20 percent, one of the rarer outcomes the Tank produces. Since then the company has expanded from baseball and softball into golf, tennis, pickleball, and cricket, and built out a merchandise line alongside the core strap.

If you are asking whether 9 Strap survived its Shark Tank moment, the answer right now is a clear yes, with growth signals pointing further up rather than a plateau.

Recorded pitch result

Recorded on-air deal

$800,000 recorded amount
20% equity
With Kevin O'Leary + Daniel Lubetzky + Kendra Scott + Rashaun Williams

These are the recorded on-air terms. The pitch fields do not confirm completed funding; a company update may report later closing, changed terms or a deal that fell through.

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See the full 9 Strap pitch breakdown and reported terms →