Major League Baseball is investing in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League that will debut next month, marking MLB’s first comprehensive partnership with a professional women’s sports circuit.
MLB said Thursday it was making a strategic investment in AUSL of an undisclosed amount for operational costs and a commitment to help it gain visibility. MLB will assist with content, marketing and sales, events, distribution, editorial, and digital and social platforms.
Support will include marketing the AUSL and its athletes during MLB’s All-Star Game — this year’s edition of the Midsummer Classic is set for July 15 at the Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park — and throughout the postseason along with broadcasts on the MLB Network and streams on MLB.TV.
“This is something we’re really excited about,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told The Associated Press. “We studied the space hard. We think it’s a real opportunity, and we’re excited to be involved.”
Athletes Unlimited has featured softball since 2020, when it unveiled a unique format that crowned an individual champion. The company will launch a four-team league starting June 7 with the Bandits and Talons opening with a three-game series in Rosemont, Illinois, and the Blaze and Volts playing a three-game series in Wichita, Kansas.