Paige Bueckers hadn’t even stepped on stage at the 2025 WNBA Draft before her name was already dominating headlines. On the eve of the draft, Front Office Sports reported the former UConn star signed a three-year, $350,000-per-year contract with Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league founded by WNBA players Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The agreement makes her Unrivaled salary higher in year one than what she’d earn in four years on a rookie-scale WNBA contract.
Asked about the situation ahead of the draft, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert acknowledged the optics but said Bueckers’ involvement in Unrivaled wasn’t new. “I think, first of all, Paige already announced that six months ago or so,” Engelbert said. “I think it was already announced that Paige was signing a three-year deal with them and had equity in the league.”
Engelbert expressed support for what Collier and Stewart are building in Miami, but noted that comparing the two leagues wasn’t exactly apples to apples. “By the time we get done [with expansion] with 16 teams, over 190 players we need to take care of,” she said. “I know it’s a lot easier to do 30 [players] in one spot.”
Still, the salary gap has drawn attention. Bueckers is set to earn $78,831 as a rookie and $348,198 over four years in the WNBA, less than one year with Unrivaled. Engelbert pointed to ongoing CBA negotiations, which could shift those numbers by the end of Bueckers’ rookie year.
For now, she maintained that the WNBA remains a strong platform: “What the WNBA offers is a huge platform to our players around their corporate partners around activating.”
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No. 1 Pick to the Wings
Minutes after Engelbert’s remarks, the Dallas Wings made it official: Bueckers was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft. Speaking to fans in Arlington, Wings GM Curt Miller called it “a momentum-building moment” and praised Bueckers as “one of the most efficient players the collegiate game has ever seen.”
“She makes everybody better,” Miller added. He also noted the Wings’ second first-round pick, Madison Scott, calling her “one of the best defenders out there.”
Bueckers’ Numbers at UConn
Bueckers heads to the pros after a strong senior season at UConn, where she averaged 19.9 points and 4.6 assists per game. She shot 53.4% from the field, 41.9% from three-point range, and 88.9% from the free throw line.
