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Yeah, I know. If coach graduated in '16, then her daughter would be 8! I guess I'll wait to read the bio if/when they put it up.Not daughter - the math doesn't add up. I'm guessing she coached her.
This is the test out the updated forum software, but also since no one has posted lately.
I saw this and other transfer tweets:
And for this and others, the first thing in my mind was, "Hunh, not even batting over 0.300. Not missing out on anything there."
Which makes you realized how spoiled and rich we are with our hitting the last few years.
Wow a little surprised Ryan Brown headed to Tennessee. We’ll have a chance to face her in the SEC!
Actually, kinda weird. But that's just me.
Actually, kinda weird. But that's just me.
Can someone explain this to me? I learned that college baseball has a league where they play very small towns during the summer when they're "off" to keep their skills sharp? And they don't earn a paycheck? So is this league, the first I've heard for college softball, the same thing? It's summer school club ball for college players?
Thanks Benny for the effort you put into this! Very interesting article, not only about Canady but the whole NIL saga as well.It did get quiet after rumors of her NIL expectations she wanted. There was an article in the SF Chronicle they expected her to remain with Stanford for an undisclosed NIL deal. This article was tricky to get because you have to be a paid subscriber... But before the webpage would timeout... I was able to "control-A" then "control-V" to paste onto my onenote... --->
Could NiJaree Canady stay at Stanford? A historic NIL deal for softball could make it happen
By Marisa Ingemi, Staff Writer, Women's Sports July 16, 2024
Stanford’s NiJaree Canady greets Dani Hayes after Hayes’ catch to end LSU’s fourth inning during an NCAA Softball Super Regionals Game 3 at Boyd Jill Smith Family Stadium in Stanford on May 26.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
Every day that NiJaree Canady doesn’t commit to another school is a relief for Stanford, which hopes its the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Pitcher of the Year returns after entering the transfer portal.
With some experts saying that bidding for Canady could reach as high as $1 million per year, Stanford finds itself in negotiations that could alter non-revenue sports forever. One source with knowledge of the talks would not disclose specific figures but said the people involved with Stanford’s NIL collective, Lifetime Cardinal, were “giving their all” to retain the nation’s top returning player.
“It’s very, very important for us,” a source with knowledge of the NIL negotiations said.
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The Cardinal have struggled to compete in NIL negotiations across multiple sports, and have lost key athletes such as women’s basketball player Kiki Iriafen in the spring.
Unlike most athletes who enter the portal, Canady, who has led the program to consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances, did not post anything on social media about her decision, a sign to some that she might be considering staying at Stanford.
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“I think there is a good chance she stays,” said Jessica Mendoza, an ESPN announcer and Stanford softball alum. “I wouldn’t bank on her leaving. She’s in the portal, but I think there’s the chance she stays (at Stanford). What we’re seeing now in the portal is it isn’t a commitment to leaving, but seeing what’s out there.”
For softball players, NIL offers have not been comparable to what a top player in football or basketball gets. According to On3.com, which tracks college recruiting and NIL deals, the highest earner in college sports is Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders at $4.9 million per season, and the top basketball earner is Duke’s Cooper Flagg at $1.4 million. Former Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts was reported to have softball’s biggest NIL deal at $136,000.
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Stanford has been historically elite in Olympic and women’s sports, winning NCAA titles in at least one sport for 48 consecutive years, but the bidding for Canady could shape how competitive the school remains as it heads to the ACC this season.
“If you want these sports to win, you’re going to have to put up the NIL numbers, no matter the sport,” said Mit Winter, a sports law attorney and NIL expert. “There is interest in multiple women’s college sports and they are growing. Stanford is one of those schools that is facing the reality of keeping up to stay successful.”
OpenDorse, a company that markets itself as one that “connects collegiate athletes with prospective NIL sponsors,” lists softball as the sixth-ranked sport in NIL player compensation, behind football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and women’s volleyball.
Canady was honored as the 2024 USA Softball Player of the Year and entered the portal June 17, the last possible date. As a sophomore, she racked up 337 strikeouts over 230⅔ innings with an ERA of 0.73 and is considered the best pitcher in college softball.
Two sources at Stanford told the Chronicle under condition of anonymity because they did not have permission to speak on negotiations between Canady, Lifetime Cardinal and Stanford that the school is “not out of it” as far as bringing back Canady.
Though players can remain in the portal indefinitely, Canady likely will need to commit to a school by August to be enrolled for the new school year.
According to the source on NIL negotiations, Canady is getting offers near seven figures from well-funded collectives at Oklahoma and other schools. Florida is believed to have made a bid, and Texas, Oklahoma State and Florida State also have reached out to Canady, according to a source in Stanford’s softball program.
Last week, Oklahoma signed Louisiana’s Sam Landry, one of the other top pitchers in the portal, raising the question of whether the school also could afford Canady. Despite whispers that Canady’s NIL offers might reach nearly $1 million, Winter and other NIL experts don’t believe it will go that high.
“She’s going to skyrocket (the NIL numbers) to a whole new level,” Mendoza said, “but it’s too fluid a situation to attach a number.”
NIL-NCAA, a database that estimates NIL collective funding for public universities based on booster data, lists Texas as the top collective funding school. Florida is ranked seventh. As a private university, Stanford’s data is not publicly reported, and Lifetime Cardinal previously has declined to comment on its funding level.
“The resources are there for (Lifetime Cardinal) to be as competitive as any collective out there,” Winter said. “There are obviously many very successful, wealthy Stanford alumni. It’s just a matter of tapping into them.”
There are examples of smaller sports getting an influx of donor money from collectives. Lifetime Cardinal has set up funding for everyone on the Stanford women’s gymnastics team, for example, despite its status as a non-revenue sport, because of donors with an interest in that program.
“There are donors or supporters who might want to give to a specific sport or athlete,” Winter said. “So all it takes is one of them. I don’t think you can assume you’re going to keep doing well at a smaller sport or Olympic sport without considering NIL anymore. … There are donors willing to set the market.”
Payments to softball players reportedly make up just 0.8% of NIL money nationally. There is not a reliable publicly available resource that tracks NIL deals in college softball.
Part of what Stanford can offer Canady is a full scholarship, worth around $70,000 a year. By NCAA rule, every Division I softball program has 12 scholarships. Most of those scholarships are split among multiple players, with any player on full scholarship being a rarity.
Wherever Canady decides to go for the next school year, her entering the portal and what she ultimately commands in NIL money could change how the sport is recruited for years to come.
“NiJa transcends the sport of softball,” Mendoza said. “There are a lot of opportunities for her regardless of where she is.”
Softball has been part of the nationwide growth of the popularity of collegiate women’s sports, and the Women’s College World Series added a ratings boost for the NCAA beyond football bowl season and March Madness for men’s and women’s college basketball. This year, the series averaged 2 million viewers per game on ESPN, a 24% increase from 2023 and a 3% increase from the previous record in 2015.
Reach Marisa Ingemi: [email protected]; Twitter: @marisa_ingemi
July 16, 2024
Marisa Ingemi
STAFF WRITER, WOMEN'S SPORTS
Marisa Ingemi covers the Golden State Valkyries, Bay FC, Stanford women’s basketball and more women’s sports enterprise for the San Francisco Chronicle. She also covers the San Jose Sharks and other hockey after multiple stints as an NHL beat reporter. Ingemi graduated from Boston University in 2017 and has been recognized by APSE in 2023 and The Best American Sports Writing in 2022. She serves on the board for the Association for Women in Sports Media and is a voter in the AP women’s basketball poll.
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From <https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/...ay-stanford-considers-record-nil-19566500.php>
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Ok Jacob you can't just throw some statement like this out there without giving some insight. Tech is one of the most off the grid, back water locations I could image Canady going to. They have a new Coach who will be in the process of building the Tech program over the next couple of years so unless Tech came up with some NIL donar who is willing to foot the bill for her I am skeptical! Plus the fact that their chances of winning a Natty is at best a prayer and a hawk tuah! I personally hope she does go there.I think Canady is going to Tech.
Ok Jacob you can't just throw some statement like this out there without giving some insight. Tech is one of the most off the grid, back water locations I could image Canady going to. They have a new Coach who will be in the process of building the Tech program over the next couple of years so unless Tech came up with some NIL donar who is willing to foot the bill for her I am skeptical! Plus the fact that their chances of winning a Natty is at best a pray and a hawk tuah! I personally hope she does go there.
You have supplied some surprising and good updates to the fans in the past so I look forward for you enlighten us all.