April felt like a fairytale for Paige Bueckers. First, she delivered UConn the title they had been chasing for years. A perfect send-off to a legendary college run. Then, just days later, her name was called as the number 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings. A moment many fans had been waiting for. But the magic didn’t stop there. Paige also became one of the top earners in Unrivaled. Historic? Absolutely! The hype around it is as real as it gets. And if you’re still not sold? Go peek at those ticket prices.

The WNBA is on fire right now, and the big reason? The “Caitlin Clark effect.” Her regular-season games pulled in a wild 1.2 million viewers on average—nearly 200% more than games without her. TV viewership? Shot up by 300%. And that’s just the beginning—45% of the total broadcast value now comes straight from Fever games. Oh, and merch? That went crazy too! Sales spiked by a jaw-dropping 500%. A similar trend can now be seen with the imminent arrival of Paige Bueckers.

ESPN’s Kelly Carter summed it up perfectly. The rise of stars like Paige and Caitlin has brought a whole new wave of popularity to the women’s game—but it’s also caught her off guard! She said, “Now all of a sudden we’re able to see these growing audiences. We’re able to see women um their salaries rising and you know there still is a long way to go but we are seeing them get in the game you know, so to speak after so many years of not being there, you know? And now we have these sizable audiences that are tuning in, and I’m excited about it. I mean, I can’t get a ticket, you know? I think which is a good thing!”

The demand for Dallas Wings tickets is absolutely off the charts right now! According to SeatGeek, ticket sales shot up 11x compared to the five days before the draft. Site traffic? A wild 905% jump, per TMZ. And over at Vivid Seats, it’s the same story. They confirmed the hype is very real. Average ticket prices for Wings games have jumped by 38% compared to last season. What’s even crazier is that the overall traffic for their games exploded by 920%.

For comparison, Indiana Fever’s draft buzz after landing Caitlin Clark led to just a 60% traffic bump. Paige has basically blown that out of the water. Want to know the prices? Wings vs. Fever, the first Bueckers vs. Clark clash? That ticket’s averaging a staggering $449. Their season opener against the Lynx? Prices are ranging from $78 all the way to $2000 on Vivid Seats. Insane!

But for Paige, this isn’t just the beginning of her W journey. It’s also the start of her career as a businesswoman!

Paige Bueckers becomes an investor at Unrivaled

Last year, Bueckers made a bold move. She signed an NIL deal with Unrivaled—one that gave her real equity in the league. Yep, she’s not just playing in it this season. She’s invested in it as well. She confirmed it herself on “Good Morning America” this Wednesday.

“I mean, investments in women’s sports — I feel like the return on investment has been amazing,” Bueckers said. “Even the first year (of Unrivaled), the numbers were shocking. They just blew it out of the water. And just to invest so much in women’s sports, it’s growing at an all-time high, and it’s just a great time to be in women’s sports.”

Bueckers inked a three-year deal with Unrivaled right after the draft. While the exact numbers haven’t been made public, reports say her first-year salary alone is more than what she’ll make from her entire four-year WNBA rookie contract. Front Office Sports estimates she’s pulling in over $350K this year, placing her among the top earners in the league.

A lot of people thought that guard might wait another year—like Olivia Miles, Flau’jae Johnson, and others to secure a higher payday. But Paige? She’s not sweating it. With her huge endorsement empire and that Unrivaled deal, Bueckers is more than ready to handle the salary gap in the WNBA! For now, though, it’s the fans who can’t wait to see what she does on the court for Dallas. The excitement is real!