Paige Bueckers teases plans for her $50,000 Unrivaled prize
Back when she was still playing for the UConn Huskies, Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers was among the most successful women's college student athletes when it came to earning money during the NCAA's NIL era.
Bueckers was in college at the perfect time for this, and her platform and stardom with UConn created many lucrative money-earning opportunities, likely making her a millionaire before she graduated.
Bueckers' 2025 WNBA Draft class will be the last one to not benefit from a new CBA. When the next CBA is ratified (which could be coming at any time at this point), the salaries that rookies will be able to make will increase to much more than the $78,831 base salary that Bueckers had during her first season in Dallas. Meanwhile, Bueckers will be tethered to her rookie contract until at least after the 2029 season, when she'll become a restricted free agent.
That's not to say Bueckers is not longer making the same money she earned in college. In addition to her base WNBA salary, Bueckers has many more sponsorships and endorsements, including with Nike, Gatorade, Dunkin', Verizon, and Bose, to name a few.
Not to mention the deal that Bueckers signed with Unrivaled back when she was still at UConn. This NIL deal gave her equity in the 3x3 league, but there were reports that Bueckers' first-year Unrivaled salary would exceed what she would make in four years of her WNBA rookie contract.
Paige Bueckers message about $50,000 Unrivaled winnings speaks volumes
In December of 2025, Unrivaled announced that it would be doing a challenge where the player who recorded the highest free throw percentage across the first five games of Unrivaled's season, which would earn a $50,000 prize.
Bueckers shot a perfect 13 for 13 from the line during Breeze BC's first five games. And after her team's 83-64 win over Mist BC on January 19, Bueckers (who scored 37 points in her team's win) was informed that she had won this $50,000 prize and had a hilarious response.
“I got some good plans, but no pocket watching over here," Bueckers said with a smile when asked what she might do with her winnings, per an X post from @wnbagotgame.
"I'mma take care of it," she added.
Paige Bueckers won $50,000 and said that she’ll take care of the money “no pocket watching over here” 💀 pic.twitter.com/yWJZQTWfMZ
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) January 20, 2026
This honest answer is fair enough from the Dallas Wings star guard, who isn't required to tell anybody how she plans to spend her money.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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