Major League Baseball to make major investment in women's professional softball league
Major League Baseball will make a strategic investment in the newly launched Athletes Unlimited Softball League, the league announced Thursday.
The deal marks MLB's first comprehensive partnership with a women's pro sports league and comes as women's sports see rapid growth in everything from television viewership to team valuations.
Terms of the deal were not provided.
As part of the agreement, MLB will help raise the visibility of the AUSL and its athletes through its sales, marketing, broadcast and social media platforms. The baseball league will also make a significant financial investment toward league operational costs and key growth initiatives as it starts its inaugural season this year.
"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," MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.
Athletes Unlimited co-founder and CEO Jon Patricof, who also owns and operates pro volleyball and basketball leagues, said the partnership will boost professional women's softball, a sport that has seen major growth in recent years.
"The sport is growing at the grassroots level, the college level and it will be back in the Olympics in 2028" in Los Angeles, Patricof said. "It's kind of a giant among pro women's sports right now."
MLB said it will also air select AUSL games on MLB Network and MLB.TV.
Last February, ESPN signed a deal with Athletes Unlimited to broadcast at least 30 softball games across its networks. It has reason to believe the sport is attracting a big audience: More than 2 million viewers tuned in for the NCAA Division I Women's College World Series finals in 2024, a 24% increase over the previous year, ESPN said.
AUSL Commissioner Kim Ng called the deal with MLB a watershed moment for women's sports and softball.
"MLB's investment will supercharge our efforts to build the sustainable professional league this sport has long deserved, and sends a powerful message about the value of female athletes and the importance of creating professional opportunities for them," she said.
The AUSL will kick off its debut season on June 7 and feature four teams each playing in a 24-game campaign, followed by an All-Star Cup. The games will take place in 12 different cities this year and then transition to a city-based league in 2026.
The league is planning to expand from four to six teams next season in 2026.
"Together, we're going to reach new fans and inspire the next generation of softball players," said Ng.
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