Abbott signs $1M deal with NPF expansion team
Monica Abbott, the most dominating pitcher in the Nation Pro Fastpitch softball league, signed a six-year deal with the Houston Scrap Yard Dogs, the latest expansion team in the league.
The deal is believed to be worth $1 million and is the first of its kind in NPF history.
“I am thrilled to be able to help lead the Scrap Yard Dawgs in the NPF this year,” said the 6-3 left-handed pitcher from Santa Cruz, Calif. “It is an incredible honor to represent a first class organization and I look forward to finishing out my career there over the next 6 years and helping make the Scrap Yard Dawgs a household name in the local, national, and international community.”
The 30-year-old Abbott, who spent the past five seasons with the Chicago Bandits, will make a base salary of $20,000 for each of the next six seasons with incentive bonuses making up the rest.
“We are very excited to have the number one pitcher in the world in Houston for the next six years,” said Scrap Yard Dawgs general manager Connie May. “We have worked very hard to put a solid team on the field and Monica will be the final piece to this puzzle to give us the best opportunity to compete for the Cowles Cup in our inaugural season.”
Abbott was originally given the franchise tag in February but the tag expired Sunday and Houston signed her this week.
Abbott will be starting her ninth season in the NPF since being drafted by the Washington Glory in 2007. She led the Glory to their one and only Cowles Cup championship that year and was named the playoff MVP. In her first pro game, she went the distance and struck out 18.
After her rookie season, Abbott took a year off from the NPF to play in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Team USA came away with a Silver Medal and Abbott threw the first perfect game in Olympic history against the Netherlands. She helped Team USA to gold in the 2010 World Championships and a world cup title.
Abbott and Cat Osterman of the USSSA Pride were the two marquee pitchers in the NPF but Osterman retired after last season.
In 2012, Abbott set an NPF fastball record by throwing a 77 mph pitch June 16, 2012. She led the league in ERA with a 0.93 in 2013 and an impressive 0.31 in 2015, when she allowed only four earned runs all season and held opponents to a .108 batting average. Abbott helped the Bandits win the Cowles Cup in 2013 and 2015 and was named NPF Pitcher of the Year in 2012 and 2015.
In her senior season at the University of Tennessee (2007), Abbott was named the national softball player of the year.
At Tennessee, Abbott was a four-time NFCA First Team All-American, a four-time All-SEC Selection, and the only three-time SEC Pitcher of the Year in history. In 2004, she was named SEC Freshman of the Year. In addition to these awards, Abbott holds NCAA Division I records for career strikeouts (2,440), wins (189), shutouts (112), appearances (253) and single-season strikeouts (724).