Paige Bueckers reportedly signs NIL deal with women's basketball league Unrivaled

UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers is signing an NIL deal with Unrivaled Basketball, per The Athletic's Shams Charania. Bueckers will be the first NCAA player to join the 3-on-3 league, which will take place during the WNBA offseason.

Bueckers is the latest big name to join Unrivaled, which was founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier and will include six-figure salaries for all players. Players, including Bueckers, also receive ownership equity in the league.

Bueckers and Unrivaled confirmed the news in a post on X later on Thursday, with Bueckers saying that she was "grateful" to join the league. "To take an active role in the growth of women's sports is a dream come true. Excited for the future, it's just the beginning!" Bueckers wrote.

Per Charania, Bueckers will play in Unrivaled after her college career ends, in addition to joining the WNBA. Bueckers opted to stay for a fifth season at UConn in February after missing her junior season with an ACL tear.

In July, Unrivaled began announcing the players who will make up its 30-player league, which it says will include 10 WNBA All-Stars. The league added a slew of WNBA stars, including Jewell Loyd, Chelsea Gray and Arike Ogunbowale, in addition to Stewart and Collier, to start off, then rounded out the first 10 with Kelsey Plum, Rhyne Howard, Kahleah Copper, Jackie Young and finished with rookie phenom Angel Reese.

Unrivaled has said that it will hold off on announcing any more players until after the Olympics, where seven of its first 10 are competing. However, the league made an exception to confirm that Bueckers will join.

League play will take place over three months in Miami, starting in January and finishing before the WNBA season resumes.