TALLAHASSEE (WTXL) - The Florida State softball team fell just short of making a return trip to Oklahoma City and the Women's College World Series. For three Seminoles, their career at Florida State is over, and with the limited resources to continue playing, their careers may be over for good.
"I was fortunate enough to come to a few camps, but that's what helped build me into the ballplayer that I became," said Courtney Liddle, a former Virginia Tech standout who is second all time for home runs and RBI. She was the 18th overall pick for National Pro Fastpitch out of college in 2013.
The question now isn't why she is coaching clinics and camps, it's how. Courtney is done playing professional softball after just two seasons. According to the NPF website, the average league salary is around $6,000, and while she was playing, she had multiple jobs to survive.
"During the NPF season it's easy because you're just there playing," she said. "In the offseason I was volunteer coaching with Virginia Tech. A lot of mornings I was either working out myself or I was with the girls and all day."
For comparison, the minimum salary for a Major League Baseball player is $507,500. If you decide that salary by the amount of games in a MLB season, an athlete gets $3,132.72 per game, which means a professional baseball player makes a softball salary in just two games.
"If people knew how amazing our sport was, I don't think people wouldn't mind paying for it," said Liddle. "I know the math side of it. I know we aren't there ye,t but as a NPF player you are hoping we can build that."
Currently, the NPF boasts five teams. The newest is the Dallas Charge, who made their debut this season.
