There is a new athletic model in women’s sports and it is putting the focus on the athletes and allowing them to assist in determining their future in sports. Athletes Unlimited was founded in March 2020 and they describe themselves as, “a network of next generation professional sports leagues.”
Currently the sports included in this new model are basketball, volleyball, lacrosse, softball and AUX softball. Athletes Unlimited believes current professional sports models do not bring out the best in athletes. The mission-focused Public Benefit Corporation aims to use a more player-centric model in which athletes accumulate points in different areas of their respective sports rather than the win-loss models used across the world.
Each week, the top players based on point accumulation from the previous week are able to draft their own team. In a way, the point accumulation parallels how the pentathlon and decathlon are scored in track and field. For example, in softball players are awarded different point totals for different skills such as singles (10 points), doubles (20 points), triples (30 points), home runs (40 points), stolen bases (10 points) and more.
With an advisory committee consisting of former professional athletes like Abby Wambach and Karch Kiraly, NBA superstar Kevin Durant, in addition to journalist Taylor Rooks and entrepreneur Rich Kleiman, this league has strong legs to stand on. In addition, with big name partners on board like Nike, Gatorade, Mizuno and Dick’s Sporting Goods to name a few, this league has great potential to grow.
While Athletes Unlimited is still a young endeavor, the potential for U.S. athletes to play on their own home turf is a huge draw. Female basketball, volleyball and softball players would have the opportunity to stay on United States soil instead of having to play overseas in their prime to get paid to play the sport they excel in.
Two-time Olympic medalist Jordan Larson found herself playing volleyball abroad for 13 years, missing countless birthdays and holidays. She joined the initiative after seeing former teammates and competitors alike retire simply because they wanted to be closer to family. With Athletes Unlimited, those athletes don’t have to choose between their families and their dreams. Rather than those athletes having to retire and move home, the league gives them the opportunity to continue playing with a more enjoyable format that gives the credit each one of these top caliber athletes deserves.
With two more years until the Paris 2024 Olympics, questions remain. Will this new innovative model of professional sports leagues become a way to recruit athletes for Olympic camps? Will it allow them to build the strongest teams based on the groundbreaking scoring system that puts the athlete rather than the team at the forefront? Only time will tell as this league continues to grow in the coming years.
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