The short answer to that question can be easily found on the Athletes Unlimited Softball League website, which states in the FAQ section:
"The average salary for players in the AUSL is $45,000, with opportunities to earn up to $75,000 for the season."
While this number may not sound particularly impressive in a world where the highest caliber professional athletes earn multimillions annually, it may be surprising to know that the AUSL base salary is actually the most lucrative ever in an American softball league. The long answer involves the realization that these players were underpaid for most of the sport’s existence up until this point.
Despite the strong grassroots popularity of softball across the United States and the 2025 Women’s College World Series breaking the championship ratings with 2.4 million viewers who tuned in for Game 3, the professional game has historically struggled to entail a following from the mainstream crowd. As AUSL games regularly sell out each week and an equity partnership with MLB provides coverage on streaming platforms and MLB.com, booming interest and a growing independent scene has given the support it deserves by avoiding the fate that leagues of the past have faced.
How much did professional women’s softball players get paid before AUSL?
According to Snap Softball, members of the now-defunct National Professional Fastpitch were compensated $3,000 to $6,250 per year, with the salary cap being $20,000. With such a measly wage that is basically pocket change compared to MLB’s $5 million average reported by the Associated Press, American softball players had to rely on a secondary income source during the offseason. Others headed overseas to compete in Japan’s Diamond League, where the average payout dwarfs everything else east of the Pacific Ocean.
Another league, Women’s Professional Fastpitch, halted operations just four years into its inception after the 2024 season due to multiple participants expressing concerns over “missing paychecks and travel reimbursements” among other grievances, per The GIST.
Who has the biggest player contract in women’s softball history?
Olympic medalist Monica Abbott signed a six-year contract with NPF’s Houston Scrap Yard Dawgs in 2016 that totaled $1 million, which was an outlier among her teammates. While Abbott's contract stands today as the highest ever for a professional, Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady eclipsed the record before starting her junior year in college when she signed a gargantuan $1,050,024 NIL deal for the 2025 NCAA D1 season that has been extended to 2026.