NiJaree Canady's last ride: Texas Tech's million-dollar ace has final shot at title

NiJaree Canady’s college softball career is nearly over. When Texas Tech’s run in the NCAA Tournament ends — and Red Raider fans hope that’s with them lifting the national championship in Oklahoma City — Canady will not only be remembered as one of the sport’s greatest pitchers and a transformative player for Texas Tech, but also as a trailblazer in bringing money into softball. Through name, image and likeness earnings, Canady has been the sport’s highest paid player for the past two years, earning north of $1 million per season.

The investment has been worth it for Texas Tech. A year ago, Canady powered the Red Raiders to their first Big 12 championship and trip to the Women’s College World Series. Her list of accolades includes multiple pitcher and national player of the year awards from D1Softball.

com, NFCA, Softball America, USA Softball, Big 12 and Pac-12. Canady said she is finally feeling comfortable with being the face of softball NIL. “It took a little bit to get there too, but now that it’s my senior year, I think that's kind of a role I've started to accept,” Canady told USA TODAY Sports.

“It’s definitely been a whirlwind — I feel like that's the best way to describe it. There’s a lot of positives, but I feel like it’s something you have to adjust to. “It's an amazing time in college athletics, specifically for female athletes.