When Paige Bueckers takes the court for her first WNBA game this May, she'll be making a significant amount of money under her rookie deal as the likely No. 1 pick in the draft.
But Bueckers will actually end up making more money in her so-called side hustle with Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 startup women's basketball league that goes on during the WNBA offseason. The UConn Huskies star recently inked a three-year deal with Unrivaled that will pay her $350,000 in her first season, per Front Office Sports.
That's more than Bueckers's expected entire four-year WNBA contract, which would reportedly see her rake in $78,831 in her rookie year and $348,198 over four years. She, along with the rest of Unrivaled's players, will also receive an equity stake in the league.
It's no secret that Unrivaled, which kicked off its inaugural season in January, has handed out lucrative contracts to its participants amounting to some of the highest average salaries in U.S. women's professional sports.
The average salary in Unrivaled is reportedly $222,222, which is higher than the WNBA's regular max contract of $214,466 for 2025. Founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, Unrivaled can afford to shell out that kind of cash having secured deals with sponsors and funding from investors to raise a whopping total of $35 million.
Meanwhile, over in the WNBA, there's been rampant talks about collective bargaining between the league and the players’ union and even a looming lockout. The WNBA Players Association opted out of its current collective bargaining agreement with the league last October and will be looking to hammer out a new deal by this fall.
As the WNBA feels the heat amid negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement with its players, Bueckers at least shouldn't have to worry about her finances for the foreseeable future. She might be more worried about what she's going to wear to Monday night's WNBA draft when the Dallas Wings presumably call out her name with the first overall pick.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Why Paige Bueckers Will Make More in Unrivaled Than Her WNBA Rookie Deal.
