Major League Baseball said this week it is entering into a “first of its kind” partnership with Athletes Unlimited Softball League to boost the women’s professional sports program and help it become “an established, sustainable brand.”
The investment, which is part of MLB’s ongoing commitment to supporting the growth of softball at all levels, will include joint sales and marketing efforts, extensive promotional support and broadcasts on MLB Network and MLB.com to raise the visibility of the AUSL and its athletes. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Major League Baseball’s investment in the AUSL represents an opportunity to support softball’s long-term growth and expand our engagement with these outstanding athletes and their fans,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
MLB’s investment in a women’s sports venture comes at a time when women’s sports is riding a wave of popularity, with sophomore WNBA basketball players Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, 16-year-old women’s gold phenom Asterisk Talley, gymnast Simone Biles and members of the U.S. national women’s soccer team gaining worldwide attention.
The AUSL’s commissioner is a name brand herself: Kim Ng, who previously served as senior vice president of baseball operations for MLB and the first female general manager of a major American men’s professional sports team while with the Miami Marlins from 2020-23.
“As a part of our broader commitment to growing softball and creating more opportunities for women and girls in sports, this agreement reflects our confidence in Kim Ng’s leadership, the AUSL vision and the incredible talent of its athletes,” Manfred said.
“During this extraordinarily exciting time for women’s sports, we want softball to thrive. MLB is committed to help build a sustainable and impactful league that drives fandom, serves the softball community and benefits all female athletes,” he said.
The AUSL’s first season will be a barnstorming affair. Four teams — the Bandits, Blaze, Talons and Volts — will compete in a traveling circuit that will feature 24 games per team in a traditional format in 10 different cities from June 7-July 23, culminating in the top two teams competing in the best-of-three AUSL Championship from July 26-28 at the University of Alabama’s Rhoads Stadium.
Opening Day for the AUSL will take place Saturday, June 7, in Rosemont, Ill., and Wichita, Kan.
“I think this is an incredible step for both sports,” Ng said on CBS Mornings on Thursday. “Having worked at Major League Baseball for 10 years and having led that softball division, we were always trying to connect with the women’s side, with women’s college softball. And so, to now be able to come and have Major League Baseball support women’s pro softball and that landscape just is so meaningful to me, and to so many other young women and girls playing the sport.”
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