Paige Bueckers salary: What will UConn star make with Dallas Wings?

From the moment she first stepped foot on a college court, Paige Bueckers has been one of the biggest stars and most recognizable faces in women’s college basketball.

She was a three-time unanimous first-team All-American over her five seasons at UConn. In 2021, she became the first freshman to ever win several of the major national player of the year awards. She helped lead coach Geno Auriemma and the Huskies to four Final Fours.

The most recent of those trips to the national semifinals saw her end her decorated college career in storybook fashion, with a national title after a lopsided victory against South Carolina earlier this month.

Now, the next chapter of Bueckers’ career awaits.

The 2025 WNBA draft commenced on Monday night in New York, where the league’s 13 teams sought to find the franchise cornerstones and centerpieces to championship rosters they so deeply covet. There, Bueckers was the No. 1 overall pick to the Dallas Wings, where she’ll hope to energize what has largely been a moribund franchise going all the way back to its days as the Tulsa Shock.

While it’s long been the expectation that Bueckers would wind up in the WNBA, there are some questions about once awaits her when she gets there — including how much she’ll make.

With Bueckers now off to the WNBA, here’s a closer look at what her contract will look like:

Paige Bueckers contract details

As expected, Bueckers was the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft, going to the Dallas Wings.

With her selection atop the draft, Bueckers is set to earn just shy of $350,000 over the course of her four-year contract, which includes a base salary of about $79,000 for her rookie season. The players that go in the first four picks of the WNBA draft earn contracts that have the same format and payment scale.

Here’s the year-by-year breakdown of how much Bueckers is expected to earn in each year of her contract with the Wings:

• 2025: $78,831
• 2026: $80,408
• 2027: $88,449
• 2028 (fourth-year option): $100,510
• Total value: $348,198

Bueckers, of course, will be able to earn money beyond what her contract offers, primarily through endorsements. She was believed to be one of the top earners in all of college sports through name, image and likeness (NIL) deals with, among others, Nike, Gatorade, Bose, Verizon and Dunkin’.

Unfortunately for Bueckers, she’s coming into the league at an inopportune time.

Once the collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and the WNBA Players Union expires next season, player salaries are expected to grow considerably given the league’s rising popularity and the 11-year media rights deal the WNBA signed last year that will bring in at least $200 million a year. Depending on the specifics of the new CBA, Bueckers will likely earn much less than a player in her position will in the years to come.

Paige Bueckers WNBA draft

With Bueckers going No. 1 overall, here’s a look at how the rest of the first round of the 2025 WNBA draft transpired:

1. Dallas Wings: G Paige Bueckers, UConn
2. Seattle Storm: C Dominique Malonga, Tarbes GB
3. Washington Mystics: G Sonia Citron, Notre Dame
4. Washington Mystics: F Kiki Iriafen, USC
5. Golden State Valkyries: G Justė Jocytė, Lyon ASVEL
6. Washington Mystics: G Georgia Amoore, Kentucky
7. Connecticut Sun: F Aneesah Morrow, LSU
8. Connecticut Sun: F Saniya Rivers, NC State
9. Los Angeles Sparks: G Sarah Ashlee Barker, Alabama
10. Chicago Sky: F Ajsa Sivka, Tarbes GB
11. Chicago Sky: G Hailey Van Lith, TCU
12. Dallas Wings: G Aziaha James, NC State