On top of her ever-growing list of on-court accolades, UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers was named the top-earning female athlete on the NIL Store platform across all sports for the 2023-24 academic year.
Women’s basketball players made up all four finalists for top-earning female athlete, with Bueckers beating out former UConn teammate Nika Muhl, former LSU star Angel Reese and Iowa guard Gabbie Marshall. The NIL Store partners with 68 Division I athletic departments to produce officially-licensed athlete merchandise, including six of 11 Big East programs.
Bueckers returned to the court last season after missing the entire 2022-23 season with a torn ACL. Despite playing out of position for most of the year, Bueckers was a finalist for Naismith Player of the Year and led UConn on an unprecedented Final Four run with just seven active players on the roster. She averaged a career-best 21.9 points and 5.2 rebounds plus 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
The UConn women also received recognition from the NIL Store as a finalist for the Philanthropic Spirit Award. The Huskies partnered with the storefront for their annual Play4Kay game to create a limited-edition pink jersey and donated a portion of sales to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. Kyle Muncy, UConn’s director of brand partnerships and trademark management, was named the NIL Store’s Licensing Director of the Year.
