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On Monday, Paige Bueckers is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. But before the draft takes place, Buecker is reportedly making moves with the other U.S. women’s basketball league, Unrivaled.
Bueckers, fresh off her NCAA championship with UConn, has reportedly signed a three-year contract with the three-on-three league, per multiple reports on Sunday.
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Although the exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, the salary is reportedly a big number — much bigger than Bueckers’ projected WNBA salary. In fact, per reports, Bueckers’ first-year salary in Unrivaled is larger than the guard would make in her first four years in the WNBA.
As the No. 1 overall pick, Bueckers would make $78,831 in her first year in the WNBA, under the league’s current rookie scale. That number would go up annually, with Bueckers earning $348,198 in total over her first four years in the league.
Payment is a major sticking point with the WNBA, and is one of the main reasons why players opted out of the current collective bargaining agreement in October. Compared to other professional sports leagues, WNBA salaries are quite low, despite the recent surge of attention on the league.
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In response, Unrivaled was built with an eye towards equitable payment. All players receive at least six-figure salaries for the three-month three-on-three league from an $8 million pool, averaging $220,000 per player — around the same amount as the maximum base pay in the WNBA. Players in Unrivaled also receive equity in the league.
Bueckers signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled this year ahead of its inaugural season, becoming the first NCAA player to do so. (LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson later signed a deal with the league as well.) Although she did not participate in the 2025 season, Bueckers planned to join the league after the end of her college career as a result of the deal.
Now, that agreement is coming to pass, with Bueckers signing on with Unrivaled for the long term.
