Isaiah "Izzy" Bryant isn't unlike many up-and-coming professional-league sports stars. On the field, he wows fans with his speed and the height of his jumps. His team plays matches on ESPN. And he is asked to autograph everything from sports equipment to body parts.

Now, if he can only score more than 50 bucks a game.

"No one's making a living off Frisbee yet," Mr. Bryant said, over coffee recently near the Midtown office where the 29-year-old Columbia University graduate works a day job as an ad salesman.

What may come as a surprise to many sports fans is that people are even trying. Interest has grown across the country in ultimate Frisbee, the laid-back sport long popular in college intramural leagues, which involves two teams trying to advance the disc down a field to a goal zone. For two seasons, New York has had not one, but two, teams playing in rival pro leagues.

Mr. Bryant's team, the New York Empire, plays weekly at Randall's Island or Coney Island from April to July. Some of its games are broadcast on the online-streaming service ESPN 3, along with arena football, cricket and fast-pitch softball.