AUSL players unionize, ask league to recognize them before 2027 season

Athletes Unlimited Softball League players announced plans to unionize and have asked the AUSL to voluntarily recognize the union ahead of any potential collective bargaining agreement for the 2027 season.

The AUSL completed its second season this summer and its first with six markets — including expansion OKC Spark and Portland Cascade.

The Spark, led by former UCLA softball star Maya Brady, went 13-12 and finished in fourth place.

According to the league, the average salary for AUSL players is $35,000, while some players can earn up to $80,000. There are 16 players on each team in the AUSL.

The league saw a 110% increase in merchandise sales, a 150% jump in broadcast ratings, and 25 games with sold-out attendance, according to the AUSLPA.

Unionization efforts by the players association are being guided by labor relations consulting firm Sports Solidarity LLC — which helped Minor League Baseball players unionize in 2022 — and law firm Altshuler Berzon LLP.

“After an incredibly successful 2026 season, we are thrilled to announce that a supermajority of AUSL players have signed union cards to form the AUSLPA,” the players association said in a release Tuesday night, Oct. 14. “This is a landmark next step in the growth of our sport. 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. We look forward to the AUSL quickly recognizing our union so we can begin negotiations immediately and reach a first CBA well in advance of the 2027 season.”

More: What did we learn from OKC Spark's debut season in AUSL? Here are five takeaways