Major League Baseball is investing in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL), marking its first venture into a professional women’s softball league, with an equity stake exceeding 20%. The league will debut on June 7, featuring four teams—Bandits, Talons, Blaze, and Volts—playing across 10 cities until July 23, culminating in a three-game championship series in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Players, drafted from those who have exhausted college eligibility, will earn an average salary of $45,000, with potential earnings up to $75,000, as AUSL plans to evolve into a city-based league by 2026.