April 14 (UPI) — Paige Bueckers, the projected No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s 2025 WNBA Draft, is expected to sign a three-year contract with Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league that debuted in January.
Sources told ESPN, The Athletic and the New York Post about the development on Sunday. Bueckers’ first-year salary in Unrivaled is expected to be more than the combined total of her earnings over the first four years of her WNBA tenure.
Bueckers, who led the UConn Huskies to a national title on April 6, is expected to join the Dallas Wings as the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft on Monday in New York.
She is set to earn $78,831 during the first year of her WNBA career, according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement. Her four-year earnings are expected to total $348,198, including a fourth-year option base salary of $100,510 in 2028.
The 2025 WNBA regular-season will run from May 16 to September 11. The second season of Unrivaled is expected to start in early 2026. Rose, a team featuring Chelsea Gray, Angel Reese, Kahleah Copper, Brittney Sykes, Azura Stevens and Lexie Hull, were crowned champions in May after Unrivaled’s first eight-week season.
Bueckers, 23, also signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with Unrivaled while she was at UConn. She earned a total NIL valuation of about $1.5 million, according to On3.com.
The 2025 WNBA Draft will air at 7:30 p.m. EDT Monday on ESPN.
