Paige Bueckers’ net worth is estimated at $9.1 million as of 2025, making her one of the highest-earning female athletes in the world before her 24th birthday. A professional basketball player for the Dallas Wings in the WNBA, Bueckers is the first overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft, the 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year, and the most commercially valuable women’s basketball player after Caitlin Clark. Her fortune is built almost entirely on endorsements, with her WNBA base salary of $78,831 representing a fraction of her total annual earnings.
Updated March 2026: According to Forbes’ 2025 Highest-Paid Female Athletes list, Bueckers ranked 16th globally with $9.1 million in total earnings, driven primarily by her extensive NIL and endorsement portfolio. That figure placed her ahead of all other WNBA rookies and behind only Caitlin Clark ($12.1 million), Sabrina Ionescu ($10.5 million), and Angel Reese ($9.4 million) among WNBA players.
Paige Madison Bueckers was born on October 20, 2001, in Edina, Minnesota, and grew up in nearby St. Louis Park. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and she was raised alongside three younger siblings. She started playing basketball at age five and developed her game through youth leagues in the Minneapolis suburbs.
Bueckers attended Hopkins High School in Minnetonka, Minnesota, where she became one of the most decorated prep players in state history. She led Hopkins to a 62-game winning streak and set school records in points, assists, and steals across her career from 2016 to 2020. National recruiting services ranked her the number one prospect in the class of 2020, and she won multiple national high school player of the year awards.
In 2020, Bueckers enrolled at the University of Connecticut (UConn), where she played under head coach Geno Auriemma. As a freshman in 2020–21, she became the first first-year player to win the Associated Press Player of the Year award, the Naismith Trophy, and the John R. Wooden Award simultaneously. She remained at UConn through five seasons, earning All-American honors four times. In April 2025, she completed her collegiate career by winning the NCAA National Championship with the Huskies, earning her the Wade Trophy as the nation’s top player that same year.
On April 14, 2025, the Dallas Wings selected Paige Bueckers with the first overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, making her the most anticipated WNBA arrival since Caitlin Clark’s debut the previous year. According to Spotrac, her rookie deal covers three guaranteed years at $78,831 (2025), $80,408 (2026), and $88,449 (2027), with a team option worth $100,510 in a potential fourth year — a total of $348,198 over four seasons if exercised.
Bueckers’ first WNBA season exceeded expectations on both sides of the court. On August 17, 2025, she set a Dallas Wings rookie scoring record with 44 points in a single game. She was selected to the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game and finished the season on the All-WNBA Second Team. In September 2025, the WNBA awarded her the Rookie of the Year trophy with 70 of 72 possible votes — a near-unanimous decision, according to ESPN.
Alongside her WNBA commitments, Bueckers joined the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the three-on-three women’s basketball league, during the 2025–26 off-season. She plays for Breeze Unrivaled and holds an equity stake in the league. By January 19, 2026, she had posted a personal high of 37 points in a single game and was leading the league in scoring at 23.7 points per game. She also won the Unrivaled Free Throw Challenge, taking home $50,000 in January 2026. In March 2026, she represented the United States in World Cup qualifying competition.
The structure of Bueckers’ wealth is almost entirely endorsement-driven, with her WNBA contract and Unrivaled salary serving as secondary income streams.
Bueckers is a Christian who has spoken publicly about her faith throughout her college and professional career. She is reportedly in a relationship with former UConn teammate and professional basketball player Azzi Fudd. Her half-brother Drew and three younger siblings remain close to her despite growing up across a divided household in the Minneapolis area.
Off the court, Bueckers has been vocal in support of social justice causes. She has supported the Black Lives Matter movement and used her platform to raise awareness around food insecurity through her foundation. She is noted in the sports community for her team-first mentality — a trait that earned her particular respect during UConn’s 2025 national championship run.
In 2026, despite a public collective bargaining disagreement between WNBA players and team owners, Bueckers expressed confidence that the 2026 WNBA season would proceed, telling reporters in February 2026 that she expected an agreement to be reached. She is widely regarded as one of the sport’s most important ambassadors alongside Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles.
Paige Bueckers’ net worth is estimated at $9.1 million as of 2025, according to Forbes’ ranking of the world’s highest-paid female athletes. Virtually all of that figure comes from endorsement deals, including major partnerships with Nike, Gatorade, Bose, and Crocs. Her WNBA salary of $78,831 in her rookie season represents less than 1% of her total annual earnings.
Bueckers’ three-year guaranteed WNBA contract with the Dallas Wings is worth approximately $247,688 in total ($78,831 in 2025, $80,408 in 2026, and $88,449 in 2027), with a fourth-year team option at $100,510. This places her far below her endorsement income but in line with the WNBA’s standard rookie pay scale for the first overall pick.
Bueckers is reportedly in a relationship with Azzi Fudd, her former UConn teammate and professional basketball player who plays for the Seattle Storm. The relationship became publicly known around 2025. Bueckers has not made detailed statements about her personal life but has been photographed with Fudd at various events.