Paige Buckers is the newest star in women's basketball after being selected by the Dallas Wings with the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Similar to Caitlin Clark last year, Bueckers' rookie deal means she will be one of the lowest-paid WNBA players right now.
However, Bueckers does have other opportunities to make up for her below-market-value salary. Thanks to the creation of Unrivaled Basketball , the 3-on-3 women's basketball league, along with marketing opportunities, Bueckers can still be one of the highest earners among her peers.
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Let's dive into the contract details for Bueckers in the WNBA and Unrivaled.
Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Here are the contract details for Bueckers this season and long-term in both the WNBA and Unrivaled women's basketball leagues. Contract terms are from Spotrac and ESPN.com
Related: WNBA power rankings
| League |
2025 Salary |
2026 Salary |
2027 Salary |
| WNBA |
$78,831 |
$80,408 |
$88,449 |
| Unrivaled |
$350,000+ |
TBA |
TBA |
The Dallas Wings will have a 2028 club option for Bueckers worth $100,510 for her fourth season in the WNBA. If that fourth-year option is picked up, she will earn $348,198 in total cash. In the first three years of her WNBA contract, without the option exercised, Bueckers will earn $247,688 in total salary. She is eligible for WNBA free agency in 2029 as a restricted free agent.
According to Spotrac, Bueckers ranks 98th among all WNBA players in salary for the 2025 season. She will make more than Clark did in her rookie season ($76,535) and in the second ($80,408 vs $78,066) and third seasons ($88,449 vs $85,873) of their respective rookie contracts. This is because of the rising salary cap.
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Paige Bueckers will make $78,831 in her base salary for her rookie season in 2025. Throughout her four-year rookie contract, she is eligible to make $348,198 from 2025 through 2028. In three years, she can make $247,688 if her fourth-year team option for the 2028 season isn't picked up.
Yes, Paige Bueckers makes more than Caitlin Clark in the WNBA. Because of the new WNBA TV rights deal signed in 2024, worth $2.2 billion over 11 years, the league's revenue increased from the 2024 season to the 2025 season. As a result, the salaries for rookies entering the league in 2025 increased.
Paige Bueckers contract:$78,831 salary in 2025
Caitlin Clark contract:$78,066 in 2025 ($76,535 in her rookie season)
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Paige Bueckers makes just over $420,000 a year between her salaries in the WNBA and the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women's basketball league. For context, Bueckers made $350,000 from Unrivaled in 2025, but she is earning just a $78,831 salary as a rookie in the WNBA this season.
Across the 2025 WNBA season, Paige Bueckers will make approximately $1,791.61 per game during her rookie campaign. This amount doesn't include the state taxes taken out of her salary for playing in different states across the United States.
Paige Bueckers reportedly made over $350,000 in her first season playing in Unrivaled, which is more than she'll make in her first four seasons in the WNBA.
