In 2025 the Athletes Unlimited Softball League had its inaugural season of professional women’s softball in a traditional league style format. The Bandits, Blaze, Talons, and Volt faced off over a 24 game schedule. The Bandits and Talons reached the final series and the Talons were crowned as the first champion.
For 2026, the AUSL just announced a monster 3 year broadcast deal with sports broadcasting giant ESPN. Here are the 3 things you need to know:
- The deal includes an exclusive ESPN broadcast of at least 50 games across ESPN properties next year, though no word on exactly which channels or even if it will be on ESPN’s online only ESPN+. AUSL championship will be broadcast on ABC! First time softball on a major TV network
- The investment into the AUSL was driven by increased interest in women’s softball including a record 2.2 million viewers for last year’s NCAA championship between Texas and Texas Tech
- While this is a massive step for women’s pro softball, mentions of the total value of the deal are conspicuously absent from press releases. The WNBA (obviously on another level from AUSL right now) just published a new media deal worth $200 million per year. Staying quiet on the dollar amount suggests that softball still has a long way to go, so make sure you’re tuning in next year!
All in all, this deal is a massive achievement for the AUSL and for pro women’s fastpitch. Can’t wait for the 2026 season!
