The 2025 WNBA Draft has all eyes glued to the stage. But behind the bright lights and cheers for new beginnings, a different kind of spotlight was shining. and it was aimed directly at the league’s biggest elephant in the room, money. It was when Paige Bueckers, the newly minted Dallas Wings guard, inked a groundbreaking three-year contract with Unrivaled. As she made the move, it sent shockwaves through the basketball world. Not just because of what it meant for Bueckers, but for what it revealed about the WNBA’s ongoing financial struggle.
Her Unrivaled paycheck? Reportedly over $350,000 in just year one. Her WNBA rookie salary? Just $78,831.
For months, the league and its Commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, had remained relatively quiet about the rapidly growing 3×3 alternative. But on April 14, Engelbert finally addressed the buzz. And her response? A blunt reminder that the WNBA is watching, and that it’s aware, perhaps painfully so, of what’s at stake.
“I think Paige already announced that six months ago,” Engelbert said flatly, according to SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell. “It was already announced that Paige was signing a three-year deal with them.”
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
If that sounds like a shrug, you’re not alone in thinking so.
The post Cathy Engelbert Breaks Silence on Paige Bueckers’ Unrivaled Deal as Napheesa Collier’s 3×3 League Exposes WNBA Flaws appeared first on EssentiallySports.