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June 5, 2025
Texas Tech softball coach Gerry Glasco new a deal to get Canady needed to be higher than her agent’s proposed offer of $400,000.
Reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year, NiJaree Canady, hit the ball out of the park after accepting her latest NIL deal with Texas Tech.
Canady made headlines last July when she transferred from Stanford, and she is garnering public attention again with the historic deal worth $1,050,024 from Texas Tech’s NIL collective, The Matador Club. According to ESPN, the NIL deal is broken down into a million for Canaday, $50,000 for living expenses, and $24 for her jersey number. The star athlete who led Stanford to two consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances is now pitching in West Texas with the Red Raiders and showing other female athletes what’s possible in women’s sports.
“There are a lot of male athletes who get that, and it’s not a headline anymore,” Canady said. “I hope that happens for women’s sports, too. I feel like it can be a pressure if you let it be, but honestly, I think it’s just a privilege. I hope someone tomorrow comes in and builds it even more.”
Red Raiders coach Gerry Glasco drafted up a sweet pitch to score Canady as a player at Texas Tech. “We’re talking about a once-in-a-generation player that’s already made a name all over America,” he said. “She’s a folk hero in our sport, and she’s a sophomore.” After two seasons at Stanford that only accounted for Canady hitting just 35 times, Glasco, who has three daughters who pitched and hit, made hitting a main focus in his pitch, and he didn’t overlook Canady’s worth. “When you’re an athlete, the one thing you don’t want to be is a pitcher only. In our sport, the pitcher is so important, so we limit them. And I think that’s what she felt like in her college career,” he said. “She wants the opportunity.”
While the athlete’s agent initially sought $400,000 to make the move from Stanford, Glasco knew the offer was too low for the rising star.
“She definitely put Texas Tech softball on the map,” said Tracy Sellers, a former softball player at Texas Tech. Sellers and her husband, John, a former Red Raiders football player, know Canady deserves a top NIL deal just as much as any male athlete. “She worked so hard to be the No. 1 pitcher in the country,” said Sellers. “I left that meeting and thought, this is who I would love to put a lot of effort into because of who she is.” The Sellers, who are top Matador Club boosters, previously donated $11 million to the athletic department in 2022. One million of the funding supported upgrades for the Red Raiders stadium.
Canady considered the offer with the Red Raiders for over a month before she accepted. The NIL deal for the Topeka, Kansas, native is about more than accepting a big lump sum of money, but about placing herself in a position to open doors for the next generation of athletes to benefit. She hopes to invest her money in opening her own facilities one day to coach youth.
As of today, the Texas Tech pitcher leads the nation with a 0.90 ERA (Earned Run Average). This year, she boasts 95 at-bats at .305 with 11 home runs and five doubles. She was honored as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and led the Red Raiders to win its first Women’s College World Series. The championship series continues for Canady and No. 12-seed Texas Tech on Wednesday as they face off against No. 6-seed Texas Longhorns at 8 p.m. ET.
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