John and Tracy Sellers arrived in Lubbock, Texas, the evening of Monday, July 22, with dinner reservations and an intention: to woo the best college softball player in the world to play for Texas Tech.
The dinner was at Las Brisas, a white-tablecloth steakhouse just south of Texas Tech’s campus that serves up lobster guacamole and a 25-ounce bone-in ribeye. The player was NiJaree Canady, USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year.
There were six seats at the table: the Sellers, Marc McDougal (a board member of the Matador Club, a Texas Tech-affiliated name, image and likeness collective), Canady and her parents. No coaches or university administrators. Just a few well-connected Tech supporters and a family with a menu full of options. The group made fast friends over a nearly three-hour meal.
Canady, a 6-foot pitching phenom from Topeka, Kan., was visiting Lubbock for the first time. She was less than two months removed from leading Stanford to the Women’s College World Series semifinals as a sophomore, garnering mainstream headlines in the process. A few weeks later, she entered the transfer portal, the biggest star of a burgeoning sport hitting the open market.
The youngest person at the table that night, Canady held all the power. But she also had a tough decision ahead, still wary of leaving Stanford behind. Texas Tech softball isn’t on the same level as Stanford, and cowers in comparison to a blue blood like Oklahoma, but the Sellers could offer a distinct perspective. John played football for the Red Raiders under Mike Leach. Tracy played softball at Tech and was on the search committee for newly hired softball manager Gerry Glasco, whom Tech lured from Louisiana after five Sun Belt Conference titles and a .773 winning percentage in seven seasons.
The Sellers could offer distinct resources, too. John co-founded Double Eagle Energy, a multi-billion-dollar upstream oil-and-gas company that operates in the nearby Permian Basin region of West Texas. He also co-founded Matador Club, which he oversees with business partner and fellow Red Raiders alum Cody Campbell. The collective aims to sign every athlete on campus to an NIL deal – achieving it in football, men’s and women’s basketball, softball, baseball, track and golf, including $25,000 each for football players and $10,000 each for softball. In 2022, the Sellers gifted Texas Tech athletics $11 million, with $1 million going toward facility upgrades to Rocky Johnson Field, Tech’s softball stadium.
And on Monday night at Las Brisas, the Matador Club was prepared to make Canady a ceiling-shattering NIL offer: $1 million. But Canady wasn’t ready to accept it.
She wanted to tour the Tech campus and facilities on Tuesday and spend time with coach Glasco. She wanted to discuss her decision with her former Stanford teammates and coaches. She wanted to weigh her options. All of it only endeared her to the Sellers even more.
“She’s a superstar,” John Sellers said. “I wanted her to make the best choice she thought she could make.”
Less than 48 hours later, they got the answer they were hoping for. Canady announced on social media Wednesday afternoon that she was committing to Texas Tech, and Matador Club announced it had signed Canady to an NIL agreement soon after. The contract is for one year and $1,050,024, as The Athletic previously reported. It’s believed to be the highest-ever NIL contract for a softball player — by a wide margin.
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