Wings’ Paige Bueckers Announces Huge Career Decision After Winning Rookie of the Year

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paul White | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 4:05 PM ET

The Dallas Wings received the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s WNBA draft and made the easy decision to select point guard Paige Bueckers. She has been instrumental in the increased popularity of women’s basketball, but the players still believe they are severely underpaid.

Bueckers, along with some of the game’s biggest stars like Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese, were seen donning shirts that read, “Pay us what you owe us” during the season.

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier and New York Liberty forward Brianna Stewart co-founded the Unrivaled basketball league in 2023, which aims to compensate its players much better than the WNBA.

It was announced Monday afternoon that Bueckers will be joining the league for its second season, but the main appeal is that it takes place during the WNBA offseason.

Paige Bueckers: "I am Unrivaled" https://t.co/Xf7aiuJILy pic.twitter.com/kyNrdxYQ9d
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) September 22, 2025

The minimum salary for Unrivaled players is $100,000, which is significantly more than Bueckers’ rookie contract.

Explaining Unrivaled

Unrivaled is a three-on-three league, and while the main mission is to pay WNBA stars a better salary, it also aims to give the players a safer environment to train in the offseason.

Previously, many of the league’s stars infamously had to go overseas, where they could earn money after the WNBA season concluded.

Stewart and Collier have given the women a much more sensible alternative that pays them more than their normal salaries. Unrivaled plans on raising their pay scale this upcoming season, but the full details haven’t been revealed yet.

With Bueckers joining the league, the hope is that many other young stars will follow her, which could help pay skyrocket. Bueckers herself receives millions in endorsement money, but some of her fellow league mates don’t have that same luxury.

This announcement could be the next seismic shift in women’s basketball that elevates the sport’s popularity even further.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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