The Game Is Booming! So Why Is Pro Softball Still Playing Catchup?
Softball’s Rise Is No Longer Debatable
Softball has increasingly become one of the most popular sports here in America, as well as across the world. I’ve long wondered why the professional game hasn’t been structured for success the way other major sports are.
When it comes to women’s sports, the WNBA has kind of set the standard. That league has been running since the late ’90s and, lately, the popularity has skyrocketed with names like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and Cameron Brink grabbing national headlines. The same kind of rise has happened in softball, especially at the college level.
We’ve all seen it. Viewership for the Women’s College World Series increases every single year. This year’s tournament shattered records, especially in the finals with Texas and Texas Tech. Fans are showing up in droves, and it’s clear the demand is there.
And if you’ve paid any attention in the summer, you know just how massive the travel ball scene has become. Every weekend in different parts of the country, thousands of people pack into cities for showcase tournaments. They stay for days, spend money, and follow their teams all over because this sport matters, and their daughters aspire to play the game they love.
Every Level Is Soaring in Growth
Every level of softball has soared to new heights, but professional softball is still playing catchup in some aspects. That’s just the truth.
What Athletes Unlimited is doing with the AUSL right now is a huge step in the right direction. The structure, team-based with expansion coming, and has the MLB backing it. I’m not here to knock any other pro league or teams. That isn’t what I am doing at all. For example, the Florida Vibe, OKC Spark, and New York Rise, all have great players and a great product.
Nobody pays me to promote AUSL or any specific group. I’m just someone who’s watched this sport grow for years and wants more for it.
Professional softball minds and the powers that be has to come together and create a solid path forward, one where these athletes are supported and compensated like the elite-level professionals they are.
NIL Has Changed Everything
Let’s talk about college money for a second. NIL has completely changed the landscape. Whether you’re on board with it or not, it’s reality.
Everyone’s talking about Texas Tech right now. They’ve got the backing, and they’re playing the game that’s been going on under the table for years in other collegiate sports. But I bring up NIL to make this point:
Right now, players can make more money in college on a yearly basis than they can as professionals. In what other area of life, post college, can that be said? That’s not a knock on anyone, it’s just facts.
These players can earn hundreds of thousands, even over a million, while still in school. Then they graduate, turn pro, and are forced to juggle side jobs just to keep playing the game they love.
That’s not sustainable. That’s not right.
The Reality of Playing Pro Softball
I asked Bandits and San Diego State Aztecs coach, Stacey Nuveman-Deniz, about this balance, how hard it is to live two lives: one as a full-time adult, and one as a part-time pro athlete.
“I hope for these women that it gets to a point where they don’t have to do other things,” she said. “Having a side gig is one thing, but having to have a side gig is what I hope these athletes don’t always have to do.”
She mentioned how players like Jordan Roberts and Odicci Alexander are doing what they can, running businesses, coaching, and training; because they love the sport and want to stay close to it. But they shouldn’t have to do all that just to afford to keep playing.
“As a coach, if this could be a full-time job, that would be phenomenal,” she added. “But I’m more concerned about making sure the athletes are taken care of, that they can make this a full-time gig year-round… They can go out, make good money, make a great living, and do this; play the sport they love at the highest level.”
The Time for Pro Softball Is Now
This game is too big, too passionate, and too popular to still be treated as a part-time option. The players have earned more than that.
With MLB backing the AUSL, there’s real hope that the structure will continue to grow. My hope is that other investors and decision-makers start to see what’s happening and help push this forward. Maybe even some union between the other leagues as well, to make everything a stronger and deeper product across the board.
It’s way past time, long overdue, for softball to become a true professional league in every sense of the word.
