UConn's Paige Bueckers lands NIL deal with Leaf Trading Cards

Paige Bueckers is ready to make her return.

The UConn basketball star sat out the entire 2022-23 season, recovering from an ACL injury. But there’s no questioning how effective she is on the court when she’s fully healthy.

The 2020-21 national player of the year has emerged as one of the biggest winners of the NIL Era in the last 26 months. Gearing up to make her return on the court, Bueckers inked an NIL deal with Leaf Trading Cards. The agreement calls for the release of an exclusive Leaf card with Bueckers. Terms of the deal were not revealed.

Leaf has worked with a number of high-profile athletes in the last 26 months, signing deals with Tennessee quarterback signee Nico Iamaleava and USC Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams. In July, Leaf also announced a new partnership with Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis and running back Trey Benson. 

The trading card company has also capitalized with female athletes. Nebraska pole vaulter and social media influencer Jess Gardner debuted the first track-and-field athlete featured on a trading card in August. LSU gymnast and social media influencer Livvy Dunne partnered with Leaf to release a series of limited-edition trading cards, too.

Paige Bueckers is now next in line.

Topps has also emerged as a winner since it secured trading card rights deals with nearly 200 student-athletes across college football and basketball last June. Panini America recently released signed exclusive contracts with Texas quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning, who saw his inaugural trading card auctioned off at $103,000 for charity.

Paige Bueckers primed for return

Bueckers has grown the college game since her highly-followed recruitment. She was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and Slam in a matter of months before even enrolling at UConn. 

Now healthy after recovering from her ACL tear, she recently described her status as “full go.” The last few years haven’t gone as she intended. On top of missing all of last season, the 2021-22 season wasn’t much easier.

The 5-foot-11 combo guard missed 19 games from November to February, dealing with an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear in her left knee. After a December surgery, she recovered and returned to lead UConn to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and its first national championship game berth since 2016.

With Bueckers back to full health, the Huskies are expected to challenge LSU and Iowa for a national title. In 46 career games at UConn, she’s averaging 18 points and 4.5 rebounds. She’ll be playing next to one of her best friends, Azzi Fudd, this year, too.

And whenever she does make the decision to enter the WNBA draft, she’s expected to be one of the top picks.

“I’ve said before, I just love the college experience,” Bueckers said at a recent media availability. “I love being here at UConn and putting on that UConn jersey every single day and I just have tremendous pride playing here and playing for this program. I came here and I wanted to come here a little bit before NIL even started, so that really has no factor into my decision. It’s more just the basketball aspect and school aspect.”

Leaf is latest brand to partner with UConn star

The UConn star has become an NIL trendsetter. Bueckers is closing in on 1.7 million followers across her Instagram, Twitter and TikTok accounts. NIL opportunities have not been hard to come by.

She has worked with a number of brands, launching her own Gatorade bottle and entering a long-term relationship with Bose. Bueckers is also a brand ambassador for StockX, an online marketplace and clothing reseller. In the last month, she signed with Nike, making her the first college athlete to market a shoe for the brand. And she became one of the first college athletes to enter a marketing agreement with GoArmy, the recruiting arm of the U.S. Army and Army Reserve.

She has a $643,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 4 in women’s college basketball. Bueckers sits at No. 67 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.