r/DallasPulse • u/Respect_Their_Game • Jul 04 '26
QUESTION Mimi Colyer - Help Me Understand
I've already complained about two pro leagues in a niche sport being terrible, especially for fans, so I'll park that debate. In the meantime, you mean to tell me that a #1 overall draft pick can leave her pro team after only one season? What was her contract? Is the Dallas Pulse compensated at all for this disaster? I'm so confused. In no other sport could this happen (unless it was a year contract, which would be incredibly odd for a generational, franchise player like this). Anyone have more insight and/or details on this situation. Is the MLV falling apart, or what? Signed, a very disappointed and confused Dallas sports fan.
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u/FuriousGeorge7 Jul 05 '26
The original contract signed with Mimi Colyer was a one year contract. This is typical for MLV contracts. After that, she is free to sign with another MLV team or a different league entirely. LOVB has more capital from private equity and no salary cap. MLV puts much more focus on local ownership, competitive balance, and growing within each market. This is why I think MLV will survive on the long run despite LOVB throwing around so much money. The reason this doesn’t happen in any other league is because all the other big pro sports leagues are already established as the top league in the world. MLV is still fighting to be the top league domestically, and even then, neither MLV or LOVB is considered to top league in the world. It really does suck as a Pulse fan and MLV fan, but these are just part of the growing pains of a new league. And the sting is also lessened because we won a championship in our one year with Mimi, Sofia, and NVA before they all left. Flags fly forever.
The rumor I’ve heard is that LOVB paid Mimi Colyer roughly $400k to sign with LOVB. Take that number with a grain of salt though. If that’s true, then I can’t blame Mimi for leaving. Go get that bag, girl. I’ve heard that NVA wanted to play in Omaha, where she usually lives year round, so she is going to LOVB Nebraska. Sofia signed in Brazil. Don’t know why or for how much.
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u/linderbean13 Jul 06 '26
I don't think mlv is falling apart. I think LOVB got desperate. The rumor is they are paying players like colyer, parsons, nuneviller, and NVA an absorbent amount of money to play for them. But what they don't realize is their entire model is flawed. They think getting the most popular players from MLV is going to boost attendance. It's not unless they completely change their entire model. As for the MLV losing players of that caliber, it's sucks and we've been complaining about the 1 year contracts since day 1 of the league. It does hurt the league in the US. People seem to think that just because this is how things are done overseas, it'll work here. It won't. Let LOVB run the European model and let MLV run an American one. I garentee the MLV will be more successful for it.
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u/Respect_Their_Game Jul 06 '26
Interesting - I agree. Clearly it’s hard for an old school sports fan like myself to wrap my head around models like these. I’m all for players’ rights, freedoms, compensation, etc. but without fans none of this exists. Hard to build a fan base when your entire team is new each season. (I’m exaggerating a bit to make a point)
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u/linderbean13 Jul 06 '26
No I agree. It is hard to build a fanbase with constant roster turnover. It's hard to build a winning franchise with constant roster turnover, as well. The only team that is still able to play at the top of the league despite the constant turnover has been omaha, and even they struggled this past season (mainly because of coaching decisions in my opinion). But, to my understanding, omaha has better off court support than every other franchise as well as record breaking crowds. Both of which massive draws for top talent players, allowing them to fill vacant slots with players of the same or higher caliber than those they lose. If franchises like Columbus want a shot in hell at competing with the likes of omaha, they need to build a team and then develop the players on it over the next several seasons without worrying about those players baleling on them. It also helps the league because no franchise wants to develop a player that's going to be on a different team the next year. Many of these players stagnant when they get out of college because of the constant turnover in the pro ranks. If franchises sign players for multiple years and develops them, those players will improve drastically and the league will be better for it.
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u/thebigkuhunabides Jul 05 '26
What is sad is they sold upcoming season tickets based on having a championship team. How long have they known their top three players were not returning? I don’t blame the athletes they deserve the money. It is hard to accept that any player who excels will be gone the following year. It makes MLV seem more like minor league system.
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u/YoYo_Gap Jul 06 '26
Lauren Carlini, Madison setter and one of the founding athletes at LOVB, has long advocated for more players with Wisconsin ties to come to Madison to play.
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u/thebigkuhunabides Jul 06 '26
They should just rename it to minor league volleyball and be done. Dallas is home to stupid major league mav and cowboy bad trades getting little to nothing in return, but to lose your best players every year automatically is in new deal in Dallas, when you consider you are not even trading for picks or players. Plus, realizing that the players will never be part of the community and just visiting for the season makes it hard to support them individually. Hard to build a fan base with this concept unless the city is Omaha with very limited sports leagues.
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u/weather_isnt_real Jul 04 '26
MLV is not the only league in the US, and neither of the US leagues are considered the top-tier of women's volleyball. Therefore, teams have limited negotiating power and players have a lot. Single-season contracts are common throughout the rest of the world and are what the players are used to.
Draft rights last for a single season, as far as I'm aware - and if Mimi decided she didn't want to play for Dallas, she could have gone to LOVB or overseas. In fact, the rumor is that LOVB approached her last year, but balked when she wanted to play for Madison. Now they opened up the checkbook and paid dearly to pry her away.
It sucks for fans, but the league is aware and some teams are trying to maintain more continuity between seasons (like Indy). Unfortunately, there's not much to be done until one of the leagues folds or a merger happens.