A new professional softball league built around player-ownership and a unique scoring system is coming to Chicago this August.

Co-founded by John Patricof, the former president of MLS club NYCFC, and Jonathan Soros, Athletes Unlimited is hoping to capitalize on both softball’s national popularity and a growing trend toward athlete empowerment. Both founders believe that women’s sports have been undervalued relative to their potential and that there are ways to improve upon the traditional model of professional sports, which relies on team owners and city-based allegiances.

Rather than play in multiple cities or venues, Athletes Unlimited will begin with all four of its teams based in Rosemont, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Individual players will earn minimum compensation of $10,000 and will be able to earn a combined base and bonus of up to approximately $35,000 over the course of the season.

Players will also earn 50% of the league’s revenue and receive profit participation for 20 years. (This means a player who participates in 2020 will receive a share of any profits generated by the league through 2039.) Such a pay-system is intended to incentivize and reward players who commit to developing the league. Player housing will also be covered, as will health insurance, if needed.

“Our league is very much about the athletes,” said Anya Alvarez, Director of Content and Digital. “We’re giving players the autonomy to make decisions about their sports’ futures along with empowering them financially.”

Additional sports beyond softball will launch in 2021. In making the decision to begin with softball, the league cited the massive popularity of the Women’s College World Series and the lack of professional opportunities for many of college’s most popular players. (The 2019 WCWS averaged more than 1.1 million viewers over 15 games, up over 25% from the year before.)

“We were just kind of dumbfounded with how the sport wasn’t getting more traction and more support from the outside, especially at the professional level,” said Alvarez. “There’s tremendous interest and participation in the sport all across the country.”

The inaugural season will include 56 athletes on four teams each playing 30 games over five weeks. There will be no coaches, and teams will be redrafted each week by the four players who earn the most points the previous week.

The scoring system is unique to the league, and is designed to allow for comparisons between pitchers and position players. The majority of a player’s points will come from her team winning games and innings, with additional points being awarded for individual stats.

The league is banking on the fact that fans are more interested in following individual athletes rather than teams.

“Take an athlete like Megan Rapinoe,” said Alvarez. “If she were to no longer play for OL Reign, her fans would still follow her on a new team in a new city. LeBron is another good example. His fans aren’t just Lakers or Cavaliers fans, they’re LeBron fans through and through.”

Alvarez credited the rapid growth of social and digital media with powering this trend toward player-focused fandom.

“More than ever before, athletes are able to own their stories and intimately connect with their audiences.”

Athlete-centered storytelling will be a major aspect of Athletes Unlimited’s strategy, as the league looks to both invest in and capitalize on the personal relationships their players build with fans.

While no formal relationship as yet exists with USA Softball, the league does have a partnership with National Pro Fastpitch, another professional softball league whose season will end before Athletes Unlimited’s begin. Many players will play for both.

“Ultimately we’re viewing both leagues as funneling into one another versus trying to compete,” said Alvarez. “Our goal is to provide extended opportunities for athletes to continue their play. We want to create a new way for fans to consume and enjoy sports, while providing more opportunities for underappreciated athletes to compete and make money.”

With regard to the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Alvarez said the league is monitoring the situation day by day and that they are not hosting any events with their athletes for the time being. Given their August start date, they will wait to see how the situation unfolds before they make any major decisions.

Cameron Brink already has her rookie of the year pick for the upcoming WNBA season, and it’s Indiana-bound star Caitlin Clark. 

In the latest edition of Kelley on the Street, host Kelley O'Hara caught up with Brink in New York hours before the Stanford phenom went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks at the 2024 WNBA Draft. When O’Hara asked who would win the WNBA's rookie of the year, she answered without pause.

"Caitlin Clark," she said, while a fan commented that she thought Brink would take home the award. Brink later added that the extra foul granted to WNBA players will be "good for me."

"I hope it’s me," Charisma Osborne, who was later drafted by the Phoenix Mercury, said when asked her ROY prediction. "But, I don’t know — we’ll see."

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Maria Sanchez issued a statement on Thursday, confirming recent reports that she has requested a trade from the Houston Dash. 

In it, she revealed that the club has been aware of the request "since late March."

"This has all taken a toll and isn’t an easy thing to talk about, but I want to confirm that I’ve requested an immediate trade," she wrote. "My expectations and reasons have been clear. I trust that my current club’s management will honor my decision in a timely manner and proceed with accepting a trade."

"I’m eager to refocus and dive back into what I love most: playing football," she concluded.

Thank you, everyone, for the outpouring of kindness and support. pic.twitter.com/gcnN7dhCJU

— Maria Sanchez (@Maria17_7) April 19, 2024

Reports of Sanchez's trade request first surfaced on ESPN last week, and were later confirmed by multiple sources. 

In December of last year, Sanchez signed a three-year contract with the Dash valued at $1.5 million including bonuses and an option year. It was the largest contract in NWSL history at the time — a figure that would be eclipsed by multiple contracts in the following months. 

Sanchez spent the offseason as a restricted free agent, meaning that Houston could match any other team's offer to retain her rights. Should the Dash trade Sanchez, her current contract terms would remain intact, limiting potential buyers to teams able to afford to take on an inking of that size.

The Dash has yet to address the trade, instead reiterating to ESPN that Sanchez is "under contract, a choice she made in free agency at the end of 2023." 

Both the NWSL trade window and transfer window close tonight, April 19th, at 12 a.m. ET. The window will stay closed through the next 11 regular season games, reopening on August 1st, 2024.

The four-time league champion Seattle Storm unveiled their new practice facility on Thursday, with Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel dubbing Interbay's Seattle Storm Center for Basketball Performance the team’s "new home."

"It's just such a special space," Brummel told Fox 13 Seattle. "I think when the players get here, it's gonna be overwhelming."

The sprawling 50,000-square-foot, $64 million property is just the second designated practice facility to be designed and built expressly for a WNBA team, with the Storm further noting that 85% of all design and engineering team members involved in the project's construction were women and people of color. The finished product holds two professional indoor courts, two 3x3 outdoor courts, a state-of-the-art locker room, and players' lounge, plus designated areas for strength and conditioning, kitchen, dining, and nutrition, and recovery. 

"This facility reflects our commitment to providing our athletes an exceptional environment that supports their growth, health, and performance," said Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder in an official team release. "It’s built for women, by women, embodying our dedication to leading the way in professional women’s sports."

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For their part, the team can't wait to make the faciilty their own.

"It's amazing," Storm guard Jewell Loyd told Fox 13. "Not having to drive everywhere around, knowing you have access anytime of the day to get into the gym, to workout." 

Head coach Noelle Quinn said she predicts the team is "never going to leave this building."

"Which is a good thing for me," she continued. "You talk about having an edge in performance. We want our athletes to not only perform on the court, but get whatever they need."

All of the Storm's staff and operations will now live under one roof, and the team also has plans to launch a youth basketball program operating out of the building.

The Caitlin Clark effect is quickly making its mark on the big leagues, as WNBA host teams around the country rush to upgrade their Fever games to larger arenas in order to accommodate surging ticket sales.

With Clark mere weeks away from her Indiana Fever debut, both the Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have officially relocated their scheduled home games with head coach Christie Sides' squad. On Thursday, the Mystics became the latest to adjust their plans, moving their June 7th matchup from Entertainment & Sports Arena in Southwest DC to the more centrally located — and much larger — Capital One Arena "due to unprecedented demand."

The Mystics home court's capacity taps out at 4,200, while Capital One Arena — home to the Wizards, Capitals, and Georgetown Hoya's Men's Basketball — can fit nearly five times that crowd at some 20,000 spectators.

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"The move to Capital One Arena will allow for additional fans in the stands as well as premium hospitality options, including Suites and the all-new all-inclusive courtside Hennessy Lofts," the team announced via Thursday's press release.

The Aces were one of the first teams to switch venues, aiming to take on the Indiana Fever in front of as many as 20,000 fans inside T-Mobile Arena on July 2nd. That’s a sizable a boost from their home venue, which holds just 12,000.

For those still planning to face the Fever in their home arenas, ticket prices have skyrocketed. Previously scheduled construction has already forced the LA Sparks to relocate their first five games — including their May 24th clash with the Fever — to Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid. The temporary venue is quite the downsize, holding just 4,000 in comparison to Crypto.com Arena's near-19,000. As of Friday, the get-in price for that game started around $400.

Despite fans launching a Change.org petition urging relocation, the Chicago Sky say they're unable to move their June 23rd Fever meeting from Wintrust Arena's 10,000-seat facility to the 23,500-seat United Center due to a concert. Tickets for that game start around $325 as of Friday.