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Unrivaled announced the addition of WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers on Monday, along with five other player signings for the 2026 season.
Bueckers signed a three-year deal with the women’s 3-on-3 league in April and also became an investor. The No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft earned $78,831 in her rookie season, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Sources told ESPN that her first-year salary for the 10-week Unrivaled season will exceed what she would make in four years of her WNBA rookie contract.
Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 36 games en route to being named WNBA Rookie of the Year. She tallied the third-most points (692) and assists (194) by a rookie in WNBA history and also set the single-game rookie scoring record with 44 points at Los Angeles on Aug. 20.
Saniya Rivers, the eighth pick in this year’s draft by the Connecticut Sun, and Seattle Storm guard Erica Wheeler were also announced as first-time Unrivaled players on Monday.
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In addition, Alyssa Thomas, Rickea Jackson and Satou Sabally will be returning for their second season.
Player announcements continue Tuesday, with six players being revealed each weekday through Oct. 1. Rosters will be unveiled in November, with the season tipping off Jan. 5.
With two new clubs — the Hive and the Breeze — and an additional development player pool, 54 players will be participating in Unrivaled’s second season.
The league expanded a year earlier than originally planned, after it got a $340 million valuation in early September.
Players’ average salaries remain at six figures. Last season, players earned an estimated average salary of $222,222, and all received equity in the league. Moving forward, select athletes who join the league will also receive equity, but this will be on a case-by-case basis as contracts are negotiated.
“If we didn’t expand rosters, there were going to be All-Stars [wanting to join] who we didn’t have space for,” league president Alex Bazzell told ESPN. “We want to be the home for all of the best players in the world.”
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