On the eve of the 2025 WNBA draft, news broke that former UConn star guard and likely No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers agreed to a three-year contract to join Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women's basketball league that recently completed its inaugural season. She's set to make $350,000 in her first year with Unrivaled, per Front Office Sports' Annie Costabile.
Bueckers's first-year salary in Unrivaled would pay her slightly more than the entire four-year rookie-scale contract she'll be able to sign as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft. A big caveat there, though, is the WNBA is currently in negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) as the current deal is set to expire after the 2025 season. A top agenda item for the new CBA is certainly player salaries—so Bueckers could have a new WNBA salary after her rookie season.
Nevertheless, the numbers behind her Unrivaled deal put WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in a tough spot as she addressed the media before Monday night's draft. But Bueckers's contract didn't surprise Engelbert, as the former Huskies guard signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled before its first season which included equity in the league.
"I think, first of all, Paige already announced that six months ago or so," Engelbert said in a press conference Monday ahead of the WNBA draft. "I think it was already announced that Paige was signing a three-year deal with them and had equity in the league. Obviously I'm really proud of what [Unrivaled founders and WNBA stars] Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have thought through with that league."
Unrivaled had 36 players compete in their opening season, all of which took place in Miami. The WNBA is going through massive expansion right now, with the Golden State Valkyries set to tip off this season and the Toronto Tempo and unnamed Portland franchise to follow in 2026. That puts the WNBA at 15 teams, but Engelbert has been clear that the league plans to even things out with a 16th.
"By the time we get done [with expansion] with 16 teams, over 190 players we need to take care of," she continued on Monday. "I know it's a lot easier to do 30 [players] in one spot. The [WNBA] obviously travels the world and the U.S. and have a big platform. What the WNBA offers is a huge platform to our players around their corporate partners around activating. I mean, there's not one sporting event today where you don't see an ad spot with a WNBA player in it."
Cathy Engelbert responds to a Q about Paige Bueckers 1-year salary in Unrivaled is more than her entire WNBA rookie deal
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 14, 2025
“Paige already announced that six months ago,” she says, before explaining how different the WNBA’s scope is and the growth of corporate partnerships pic.twitter.com/s78x2JsGoo
As the WNBA's expected No. 1 pick, Bueckers her rake in $78,831 in her rookie year and $348,198 over four years. That could change after next season with a potential new CBA. In the meantime, Engelbert explained why her league's newest young star still receives immense value as part of the WNBA.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as WNBA Commissioner Responds to Paige Bueckers's Larger Contract With Unrivaled.
