A UConn Huskies women’s basketball star shared her NIL perks with her teammates in the form of Christmas gifts.
Paige Bueckers, a standout player for the UConn Huskies women’s basketball team, is one of the most well-known college athletes in the nation and has gained significantly from name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements in recent years.
As one of the top players in women’s basketball, she has secured NIL partnerships with several prominent brands, including Nike, Dunkin’, Gatorade, beauty brand Madison Reed, and multiple trading card companies.
However, the deal that her teammates likely appreciate the most is the one she has with Verizon, as it has directly benefited them.
On Monday night, the whole team enjoyed a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden against the Orlando Magic from a suite in the arena. The evening was made even more special by Bueckers, who delivered a Christmas surprise by gifting brand new iPhones to all her teammates.
“Christmas isn’t over… shout out to Verizon,” she remarked in a video shared on her Instagram story, which has since circulated on other social media platforms like X.
As anticipated, her teammates were extremely appreciative of the thoughtful gesture, reacting with enthusiasm.
“She just walked in with all those iPhones, and we were all shocked,” said Jana El Alfy, as reported by Christine Butterfield from CT Insider. “It’s truly an honor to be her teammate.”
Another teammate, Sarah Strong, expressed her deep gratitude as well.
“It was just crazy to think about, but we were definitely thankful for the phones. We really appreciate her,” the freshman noted.
This isn’t the first occasion where the Huskies star has leveraged her NIL opportunities to treat her teammates.
Two years ago, she and Azzi Fudd gifted everyone Bose headphones for the holidays. Earlier this season, Bueckers made history as the first NIL athlete to design and launch a player edition shoe with Nike, which all her teammates received as well.
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During a media session on Tuesday, teammate Kaitlyn Chen displayed her current phone, which was heavily damaged with cracks on both the front and back. Bueckers’s thoughtfulness couldn’t have come at a better moment.
“And as you can see, my phone is a little messed up, so this was a perfectly timed Christmas gift for me,” Chen said with a smile.
One notable thing many UConn fans may observe from the video is that Bueckers is walking without a significant limp. This could be the most important point, as it indicates that her knee and ankle injury, which led to her absence in Sunday’s game against the Villanova Wildcats, may not be as severe as initially feared.
Head coach Geno Auriemma affirmed this on Tuesday, stating that his star player is expected to return to the lineup next week as she is recovering from a knee sprain.
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