Women's Fastbreak On SI

Paige Bueckers, UConn Women's Hoops Clear Cooper Flagg, Duke Competition in NIL Sales

Paige Bueckers and the UConn Huskies are getting the bag when it comes to NIL sales.
Grant Young|
Mar 10, 2025; Uncasville, CT, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts after a play against the Creighton Bluejays in the first half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
Mar 10, 2025; Uncasville, CT, USA; UConn Huskies guard Paige Bueckers (5) reacts after a play against the Creighton Bluejays in the first half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Anybody who follows women's college basketball somewhat closely is surely aware that despite them not winning a NCAA National Championship since 2016, the UConn Huskies are still the country's most popular team.

Not only does the Huskies program carry a ton of prestige and name value, but UConn's top players — particularly Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, and Sarah Strong — would be stars at any school they played at. However, their profile is heightened by being part of UConn.

And due to the NCAA's NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) guidelines, these players get to profit off of their success and stardom.

A March 11 report from NIL Newsstand proved UConn's unprecedented popularity by revealing, "Women’s basketball apparel sales at the NIL Store surged by 126% year over year for the month of February, led by UConn superstar Paige Bueckers, who was the highest-earning athlete - male or female - for the month.

"The UConn women’s basketball team was the highest-earning program overall, while Azzi Fudd, Sarah Strong and KK Arnold were the second, third and fifth highest-earning female athletes," it added.

The article continued by saying, "Duke’s Cooper Flagg was the highest-earning male athlete in the month of February, while the Duke men’s basketball program was the second-highest earning program behind only UConn women’s basketball.

The report also added that February's top-earning female athletes were:

  1. Paige Bueckers - UConn Women’s Basketball
  2. Azzi Fudd - UConn Women’s Basketball
  3. Sarah Strong - UConn Women’s Basketball
  4. Flau’jae Johnson - LSU Women’s Basketball
  5. KK Arnold - UConn Women’s Basketball
  6. Lucy Olsen - Iowa Women’s Basketball
  7. Hannah Stuelke - Iowa Women’s Basketball
  8. Amiah Hargrove - Nebraska Women’s Basketball
  9. Thessa Malau’ulu - Duke Softball
  10. Gabriela Jaquez - UCLA Women’s Basketball

Not only is UConn dominating on the court, but they're also outpacing the competition — among both men's and women's hoops — when it comes to NIL sales.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

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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