UConn’s Paige Bueckers has name, image and likeness deal with Bose – CT Insider
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UConn’s Paige Bueckers tries to get past South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston during the first half of a college basketball game in the final round of the Women’s Final Four NCAA tournament Sunday, April 3, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Eric Gay / Associated Press
Paige Bueckers won’t be on the court of the UConn women’s basketball team this season as she recovers from ACL surgery.
But Bueckers, among the most marketable college athletes in the country, will continue to be visible in the name, image and likeness space. On Monday, she announced to her 1 million Instagram followers that she has an endorsement deal with audio equipment company Bose.
Bueckers wrote in paid partnership post: “I am excited to officially join the @bose family. You already know the soundtrack to my comeback is going to be epic and louder than ever thanks to Bose. I’ve got my QCE II earbuds in and we are locked in. #TeamBose #SoundIsPower.”
Bose, based in Framingham, Mass., is the latest high-profile company to partner with Bueckers. She announced a deal with the footwear company Crocs in June, and became the first college athlete to sign with Gatorade when she announced that partnership last year.
In August, Bueckers made her Gatorade commercial debut — a spot that was filmed before she tore her ACL over the summer.
Bueckers’ first NIL deal was with Stock X, a footwear and apparel marketplace brand. She also joined the education technology company Chegg as a student-athlete ambassador, a deal announced during the Final Four in the spring.
Bueckers, who will turn 21 next month, is represented by Wasserman, the powerful agency with a client list that includes Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart. As NIL activity began last year, Bueckers was viewed as the athlete with perhaps the most potential to maximize her celebrity and status as the best player in the country for endorsement opportunities.
But she tore her ACL playing a pickup game on Aug.1 and had season-ending surgery a few days later. While she could make herself available in the 2023 WNBA Draft, Bueckers declared earlier this month that she’s “not leaving.”
“I will be playing college basketball again,” she said.