After the second full season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, a majority of its players have formed a union.
Players this week announced the formation of the AUSL Players Association, a union that aims to represent every player in the fledgling professional softball league. The AUSLPA said in a statement a “supermajority” of players have signed union cards and are asking the league to voluntarily recognize them.
The AUSLPA aims to reach the first collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players by the start of the 2027 season.
A spokesperson for the AUSL did not immediately respond to USA TODAY Sports’ request for comment.
“This is a landmark next step in the growth of our sport,” the AUSLPA said in a statement. “The
AUSL is a top professional league that deserves a fully professional system in which the league and the players’ union come together at the bargaining table to negotiate a fair contract. This model has proven successful time and again in other sports, and it will work well here.”
The union says it has retained labor relations consulting firm Sports Solidarity LLC and law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP for legal representation, collective bargaining, organizing and public relations support. Sports Solidarity was founded by Harry Marino, an attorney and former minor league pitcher who spearheaded the unionization of Minor League Baseball players in 2022 and United Football League players in 2025.
At the end of this past season — the AUSL’s first in which it had city-based teams — the league said it saw a 110% increase in merchandise sales and a 97% increase in social media impressions. The AUSL also had 23 regular season sellouts and sold out both games of the championship series in College Station, Texas.
More than 90 AUSL games were distributed across ESPN platforms, CBS Sports Network and MLB Network this past season. ABC drew an average audience of 732,000 viewers for Game 1 of the championship series, making it the most-watched professional softball game on record.
The AUSL is led by commissioner Kim Ng and Athletes Unlimited CEO Jon Patricof. The league also brought in partners like Sephora and Adidas, and welcomed investments from the Milwaukee Brewers, Ryan Sanders Baseball and Rule42.
However, the league has dealt with some growing pains when it comes to compensation. For example, NiJaree Canady — the Texas Tech star pitcher and No. 2 overall pick in the AUSL Draft — had a brief holdout with the league at the start of the season in an effort to secure a better salary. In the AUSL, athletes sign contracts with the league rather than individual teams. Amidst her holdout, three people familiar with the league and her situation told USA TODAY Sports the AUSL has non-negotiable salary tiers and Canady was initially offered a rate on the lower end.
On its website, the AUSL says an average salary for a player is $35,000, with opportunities to earn up to $80,000. In each of her final two seasons at Texas Tech, Canady was earning north of $1 million from the Red Raiders’ NIL collectives.
Ng said earlier this year that the AUSL will remain at six teams for the 2027 season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: AUSL players form union after season of growth, salary questions
