WNBA: With news of Paige Bueckers’ deal, Unrivaled reminds that it has no rival

Throughout the pre-draft process, speculation swirled about the about the future of Paige Bueckers.

Although Bueckers had expressed her intention to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft, whether she would join the league in 2025 or wait until 2026, after the implementation of a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which is expected usher in higher rookie salaries, remained grist for the women’s basketball gossip mill.

Bueckers will be in the 2025 draft, all but guaranteed to go No. 1 overall and sign on the dotted line with the Dallas Wings. However, an announcement on the eve of draft served as a reminder of why such rumblings about Bueckers’ future persisted.

According to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews, Bueckers is signing a three-year deal with Unrivaled, with a first-year salary that will exceed the total earnings of her four-year WNBA rookie-scale contract. In 2025, her WNBA contract will pay her $78,831; if the new WNBA CBA does not amend rookie-scale contracts, her salary in 2025 will be an estimated $80,408. Bueckers, who signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled while still at UConn and served as the league’s “intern,” also has equity in the league.

The news also underscores how Unrivaled, which just completed a first season that outpaced investors’ revenue expectations, has already established itself as the standard-bearing, player-first women’s professional league. High salaries headline the enhanced support and resources that the league prioritizes, all while their top-tier behind-the-scenes content has endeared the league to fans.

It’s hard to not see the reporting of Bueckers’ Unrivaled deal as intentionally-timed, not just stealing the spotlight from the WNBA Draft but also creating a sharp contrast with the WNBA and its continued inadequacies.

When it comes enhancing the experience of women’s pro basketball players, Unrivaled is not the WNBA’s rival; it’s its superior.