Who Is Monica Abbott? Facts About the USA Softball Pitcher
Meet Monica Abbott, the 6'3" Softball Star Who Just Pitched a 1-Hit Shutout in the Olympics
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In 2016, Abbott became the first American woman athlete in a team sport to sign a $1 million contract when she signed with the Scrap Yard Dawgs of the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF). She told ESPN at the time that the contract "represents an opportunity for the younger players in our game . . . For me, that's what I see in this deal. I see opportunities for other athletes, for the college girls coming in [to the league], for the college freshmen, for the 12-year-olds. I see opportunities for them to only be a professional softball player. To not have to have another career, another job. Hopefully it just raises the bar of our sport."
Abbott still plays for the team, which became This Is Us Softball to support racial justice in 2020.