WNBA Commissioner Has Blunt Response to Paige Bueckers Unrivaled Salary Question

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert didn't seem stoked to be asked about Paige Bueckers' Unrivaled salary surpassing what the WNBA can offer.

Apr 14, 2025; New York, New York, USA; WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert talks to the media before the 2025 WNBA Draft at The Shed at Hudson Yards. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

On April 13, news broke that UConn Huskies star and soon-to-be No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft Paige Bueckers has signed a three-year deal with the Unrivaled women's basketball league.

This didn't come as a surprise, given that Bueckers already had an NIL deal in place with Unrivaled that included her doing sponsored content for them because she wasn't eligible to play yet, as she was in the middle of her UConn season.

However, one aspect of ESPN reporter Kendra Andrews' post about this news turned heads. Her X post wrote, "Her first-year salary with Unrivaled exceeds what she would make in her entire four-year rookie scale contract in the W."

Breaking: Paige Bueckers, projected to go No. 1 in tomorrow’s WNBA draft, has signed a 3-year deal with Unrivaled, sources tell ESPN. Her first-year salary with Unrivaled exceeds what she would make in her entire four-year rookie scale contract in the W. https://t.co/KiVs14yYhD

— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) April 14, 2025

Unrivaled being able to offer Bueckers way more money for one season than she'll get for her first four WNBA seasons is bringing the WNBA's salary woes to the forefront once again.

And when WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was asked about Bueckers' Unrivaled deal while speaking with the media on April 14, she didn't mince words.

"I think first of all, I think Paige already announced that six months ago,” Engelbert said when asked her reaction to Bueckers' Unrivaled contract, per an X post from SB Nation's Noa Dalzell. "I think it was quite some time ago, it was already announced that Paige was signing a three-year deal with them.

"Obviously, I'm very proud of what Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart have thought through with that league," she added. "I know it's a lot easier to do 30 [players] in one spot. So we obviously travel the world, and the US, and have a big platform. So I think what the WNBA offers is a huge platform for players around their corporate partners."

Engelbert later added, "Anything that raises the game of women's basketball, obviously, we support. And we are thrilled with the momentum we have coming off the NCAA season, coming off Unrivaled, but certainly thrilled with the viewership we have, and the momentum we have, and the capital coming into our league, as well as the investments our owners are making."

Cathy Engelbert responds to a Q about Paige Bueckers 1-year salary in Unrivaled is more than her entire WNBA rookie deal

“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

— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 14, 2025

Engelbert didn't seem thrilled with that question being asked.