Unrivaled has landed its big fish.
No, not Caitlin Clark, but the next best thing.
ESPN’s Kendra Andrews reported Sunday evening that Paige Bueckers signed a deal with the professional women’s basketball league.
“Projected No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Paige Bueckers is signing a three-year deal with the 3-on-3 league Unrivaled, sources told ESPN on Sunday,” Andrews wrote.
“Her first-year salary with Unrivaled exceeds what she would make in her entire four-year rookie scale contract in the W.”
The news broke on the eve of the WNBA draft, which makes for interesting timing.
As Andrews noted, Bueckers is expected to hear her name called first on Monday night, as she is the number one prospect in the draft.
But she will be making more as a member of Unrivaled than she will as a WNBA player.
To clarify, Bueckers will still be playing in the WNBA and she will still be the presumed number one overall pick.
She is just setting herself up for a larger payday once the WNBA season ends and the Unrivaled season begins.
As we saw in the league’s inaugural season last year, it was made up of WNBA stars, from Angel Reese to Breanna Stewart (Clark famously chose not to participate in the new league).
There’s room to do both, and that’s what Bueckers has reportedly decided to do.
“Bueckers’ first-year salary for the 10-week Unrivaled season will exceed what she would make in all four years of her WNBA rookie contract,” Andrews reported.
“If Bueckers is the top pick in the draft, she is set to earn $78,831 in her first year, according to the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement.”
It is easy to see why Bueckers has agreed to a deal with Unrivaled.
Bueckers isn’t a stranger to the league, as although she hasn’t played in it yet, she signed an NIL deal with the league last year, giving equity in the business.
Bueckers is coming off a national championship season after she led the UConn Huskies to their 13th national title in program history.
Now she is set to take her talents to the WNBA…and then Unrivaled after that.
