Respectfully, the trailblazers already blazed the trail.
Danielle Lawrie, Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, Kelly Kretschman, and others carried professional softball through years of unstable leagues, limited television exposure, modest pay, and even the loss of Olympic softball. They kept playing, kept promoting the game, and kept themselves elite long enough to bridge the sport into this new era.
Then came the next generation with the likes of Rachel Garcia, Montana Fouts, Megan Faraimo, Hannah Flippen, Sis Bates, Maya Brady, and many more. They helped drive the explosion in visibility, attendance, ratings, sponsorships, and fan engagement that made today's opportunities possible.
Nija Canady is an extraordinary talent. She may very well become one of the defining players of her generation.
But AUSL is two years old. The league is offering $25,000-$75,000 salaries for a 25-game season, backed by MLB, ESPN, ABC, and major sponsors. The #2 pick in a draft of 17 holding out while established veterans and proven stars have already signed and taken the field feels less like pioneering and more like posturing.
Lindsay Colas, NiJaree Canady’s agent at The Team, says that Canady is seeking a “fair and equitable contract” with AUSL—in a statement provided to
@FOS.
The former Texas Tech star is the only AUSL draftee to have not signed with the league yet, though her team played Tuesday.