Ahead of its inaugural season, Athletes Unlimited Softball League is doing what none of its predecessors could—a deal with Major League Baseball.
An announcement was made by both leagues Thursday morning detailing the “strategic investment” made by MLB. Missing from the announcement were the exact terms.
A source with direct knowledge of MLB’s investment told Front Office Sports it was an eight-figure sum. The exact terms of the deal were not available.
The two leagues have been in talks for over a year, MLB deputy commissioner Noah Garden and Athletes Unlimited CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof said.
“It’s a unique moment in time where we feel like the stars are aligning to give softball its best chance at success,” Garden told FOS.
Garden emphasized the infrastructure built by Athletes Unlimited, as the company runs several professional sports leagues including pro basketball and volleyball.
Patricof, formerly the president of NYCFC, co-founded AU with Jonathan Soros in 2020 with softball as its debut sport. However it was played at one location in a non-traditional 30-game format, featuring a scoring system that crowned one player champion. In 2022 AU founded AUX, featuring 42 athletes playing a condensed 18-game season. Last June, AU announced the launch of AUSL, a traditional softball league featuring four teams that will play a 24-game season across 10 cities.
AUSL named former Marlins general manager Kim Ng as its commissioner in April, and the league starts play in June immediately after the College World Series. In 2026 the league will be based out of specific cities.
“It is a long time coming,” Garden said. “But quite frankly I don’t think anybody has come through these doors the way AUSL has with a plan, already having invested over a series of years, and a great group of people that we think can be successful in this effort.”
MLB is not buying AUSL outright.
Both Green and Patricof stressed the importance of AUSL maintaining an independent brand in order to succeed long term. They stressed visibility, which has been a hurdle historically in professional softball’s efforts to garner mainstream relevance.
Part of those efforts will include select games airing on MLB Network and MLB.TV. The eight-figure investment will also help with AUSL’s operational costs.
Patricof didn’t get specific on how AU will deploy the new capital, instead saying “it will go to the entity as a whole.” When asked if this influx of funding will increase player salaries—the current average in AUSL is $40,000 per season—he said salaries will increase in context of the overall success of the business.
Patricof added that MLB can offer things “money can’t buy.”
“Everyone is trying to increase visibility, make sure people know where to watch and how to follow,” he said. “MLB’s platforms are fully behind AUSL is getting that type of visibility. That’s a huge win. You can’t buy that type of exposure and distribution.”
