Paige Bueckers, #5 of the UConn Huskies, shoots the ball in the second half during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 5, 2024.
Steph Chambers | Getty Images
University of Connecticut star Paige Bueckers will sign a name, image and likeness deal with the new women’s basketball league Unrivaled, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
The agreement is believed to make her the first NCAA athlete to receive an ownership stake in a professional sports league, as more lax endorsement rules allow college players to seek more endorsement and business opportunities. Terms of the deal were not available.
Unrivaled was founded last year by Women’s National Basketball Association players Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx. The league will kick off in January ahead of the WNBA season.
The two-time NCAA All-American Bueckers will likely be visible in promoting the league, but will not play until she finishes her college career at UConn, the people said. In February, Bueckers announced she would forgo the 2024 WNBA Draft to return to UConn for her senior season.
Unrivaled was started as a way to allow WNBA basketball players the option to play in the U.S. during their offseason. Previously, many players had to go overseas to supplement their WNBA salaries.
The player-owned league provides equity stakes to all 30 players, and no one will make under six figures. Current WNBA max salaries top out roughly around $250,000 per season.
The league will consist of six teams, competing 3 on 3 in full-court play. Players so far announced in the league include Stewart, Collier, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum of the Las Vegas Aces and Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings. Angel Reese of the Chicago Sky was the first player from this year’s WNBA rookie class to join the league.
The star-studded list of investors in the league include Bueckers’ UConn head coach Geno Auriemma; former National Basketball Association players Carmelo Anthony and Steve Nash; former and current soccer stars Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe; media executives John Skipper and David Levy; and actor Ashton Kutcher.