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CNBC
29-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
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 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.
USA Today
29-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Athletes Unlimited Softball League's partnership with MLB will help 'shine light' on stars
Athletes Unlimited Softball League's partnership with MLB will help 'shine light' on stars Show Caption Hide Caption Texas Tech's NiJaree Canady and Tennessee's Karlyn Pickens lead WCWS players to watch The Oklahoman's Jenni Carlson highlights several Women's College World Series key players to watch. The Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) is officially set to debut in early June and a major donor is going to bat for the women's professional softball league: Major League Baseball. MLB and the AUSL announced a wide-ranging partnership on Thursday, marking MLB's first investment in a women's professional sports league. The partnership coincides with an exciting time in the sport — not only is the 2025 Women's College World Series set to begin Thursday, softball is set to make its Olympic return in Los Angeles in 2028. "This announcement today is really a watershed moment for the AUSL,"Athletes Unlimited CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof told USA TODAY Sports. "For us, the sport has tremendous momentum in many ways. It's been a sleeping giant. It's performed so well at the college level, but maybe received less attention than some other sports out there. Major League Baseball is really going to be able to come in and help us shine a light on the incredible athletes and incredible action that exists in pro softball." Not only does the AUSL have the support of MLB, the women's professional softball league will be shepherded by icons that have helped introduce the world to softball. "We brought on board almost all the legends of the game, including seven members of the 2004 gold medal-winning Olympic softball team involved as coaches, general managers and advisors," Patricof said, referring to Lisa Fernandez (Talons GM), Stacey Nuveman-Deniz (Bandits head coach), Cat Osterman (Volts GM, advisor), Kelly Kretschman (Volts head coach), Jennie Finch (advisor), Jessica Mendoza (advisor) and Natasha Watley (advisor). Patricof added, "Kim Ng is on board as the commissioner and now Major League Baseball is on board as a strategic partner." Here's everything you need to know about the AUSL's partnership with MLB: MLB partnership will amplify pro softball league The AUSL's inaugural season kicks off June 7 and will feature four teams — Talons, Bandits, Blaze and Volts — playing a 24-game season across 10 cities, including Chicago, Austin and Salt Lake City. The AUSL season will complement the league's pre-existing All-Star Cup, where 60 players compete for an individual championship using Athletes Unlimited's innovative scoring system that makes every softball play meaningful. Athletes Unlimited's creativity is what first caught MLB's eye. Tony Reagins, MLB's Chief Baseball Development Officer, told USA TODAY Sports that Athletes Unlimited offered "something that was a bit different" and "unique." "We've really been watching the organization from afar for a couple years. We watched how they operated the business — very creative initially in the softball space, utilizing their players and getting the players more involved in different ways on and off the field," Reagins said. "We wanted to align ourselves with an organization that we thought had a like mind in the long-term goal of promoting women's sports, softball in particular, and Athletes Unlimited really checked all the boxes." With the partnership, MLB will leverage its broadcast partners and platforms to promote the visibility of the AUSL. Major League Baseball's financial investment will also assist with AUSL's "operational costs and key growth initiatives," MLB announced. Patricof added, "The MLB is going to be supporting AUSL really in all facets, marketing, promotion, and commercial development of the league." AUSL taps Kim Ng as commissioner Kim Ng was named the commissioner of the AUSL in April, highlighting another tie between professional softball and baseball. Ng played college softball at the University of Chicago and went on to become the first woman to serve as the general manager of a major North American men's professional sports team when she was named the Miami Marlins GM in 2020. "To see what she's been able to accomplish as a professional and an executive in baseball and now be able to take the reins as commissioner of AUSL is exciting, because I know her work ethic, intellect and what she will put behind this effort," Reagins said. "These discussions (between AUSL and MLB) happened before Kim was named commissioner. But to then have Kim come on board and have that familiar face that you know from a historical perspective, it made the partnership make even more sense. We think we have a great ally with Kim being at the helm of AUSL." At the time of her appointment, Ng said, 'Softball was my first love growing up, so it's both gratifying and humbling to be given this responsibility at such a pivotal moment for the sport." 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