Is Softball more popular than Tennis in the US?

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
College softball player NiJaree Canady just signed a one-year NIL deal worth $1,050,024 thru Texas Tech University.

Are there any men's college tennis players getting paid more?
She might be getting paid more than some ATP players in the top 200.

 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
That's an incredible deal but I don't believe that this is an indication that Softball is really more popular than Tennis in the US. Collegiate softball is fairly popular in CA, TX and other areas where the weather is conducive to it

However, from what I've heard & seen, a number of other collegiate sports are more popular than Softball for women in the US. These include: Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer (Futbol), Tennis, Swimming & Track & Field (incl Cross Country).
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
This doesn’t really tell us which sports are popular in the US. Far more people played Pickleball in the US in 2023 than Softball. But no one is offering obscene amounts of money to athletes to play collegiate Pickleball.

US participation numbers in sports in 2023 according to Statista.com

Softball = 8.7 million
Pickleball = 13.6 million
Tennis = 23.84 million

 

onehandbh

G.O.A.T.
This doesn’t really tell us which sports are popular in the US. Far more people played Pickleball in the US in 2023 than Softball. But no one is offering obscene amounts of money to athletes to play collegiate Pickleball.

US participation numbers in sports in 2023 according to Statista.com

Softball = 8.7 million
Pickleball = 13.6 million
Tennis = 23.84 million

I wonder how they calculated her NIL? I don't really follow softball or much of college sports? Is she really popular? What is it about her that makes her stand out so much?
 
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