Former Texas Tech pitcher NiJaree Canady is seeking a “fair and equitable contract” before signing with the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, her agent says.
“Athletes—especially women —continue to demonstrate that seeking their value is not about self-interest; rather, it’s about setting a standard and advocating for their value,” Lindsay Colas, Canady’s agent, wrote in a statement to Front Office Sports. “NiJa is looking forward to joining her team and competing as soon as we can finalize a fair and equitable contract.”
Canady, who made more $1 million a year in NIL money with Texas Tech, remains the only one out of 17 2026 AUSL draftees to have not signed with the league. The league’s second season kicked off on Tuesday; the Texas Volts, who picked Canady second in this year’s draft, played on opening day without their star rookie and will likely do so again on Thursday.
Colas, an executive at the Casey Wasserman-owned agency that recently rebranded as “The Team,” is among the most powerful agents in women’s sports, with clients including Breanna Stewart and Paige Bueckers.
A source familiar with the matter told FOS that Canady and AUSL were negotiating daily, and that she could not start those negotiations until her NCAA career ended at the Women’s College World Series finals on June 4. An AUSL spokesperson told FOS then that the league is “hopeful” she will join soon, and added on Wednesday that player salaries would increase as the league grows.
“Our goal is to create a sustainable professional softball league that provides meaningful opportunities for today’s players,” the spokesperson said in a statement to FOS. “As the league grows, so do the rewards: our model is designed so that players share in the company’s long-term success, allowing them to benefit from the league’s overall profitability and value creation.”
Per the source, an average AUSL salary ranges from $40,000 to $45,000, though bonuses can bring that total up to $75,000—a far cry from the seven-figures Canady made in college. Amenities such as housing, transportation, health insurance, and childcare are also subsidized by the MLB-invested league.
Texas alumnae Reese Atwood and Leigann Goode, the two other AUSL draftees who played in the WCWS finals, signed league contracts by June 7. All 2025 draftees signed with the league for their rookie years in time for the season to start.
AUSL is a single-entity league, as all six teams are owned by Athletes Unlimited. Players sign contracts with the league rather than with an individual team.
Colas says that Canady will eventually sign with the pro softball league at some point, citing its importance for the growth of her sport. AUSL has not responded immediately to a request for comment regarding Colas’ statement.
“NiJa is grateful to be in a unique position with the responsibility to acknowledge that professional softball is at an inflection point,” Colas says. “NiJa loves this game too much to let this moment pass without honoring what it’s asking of her, and her ability to positively impact generations of women athletes to come.”
If Canady does not suit up for the Volts on Thursday, her next opportunity to do so will be Saturday when the team plays the Carolina Blaze in Durham.
