UConn Huskies women’s basketball standout Paige Bueckers is among the most notable college athletes nationwide and has significantly profited from name, image, and likeness agreements in recent times.
Recognized as a top player in women’s basketball, she holds NIL agreements with numerous prominent brands such as Nike, Dunkin’, Gatorade, beauty company Madison Reed, and multiple trading card firms.
However, the deal that her teammates undoubtedly appreciate the most is the one Bueckers has with Verizon, since they gained directly from it.
On Monday evening, the whole team had the fortune to watch a New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden versus the Orlando Magic from one of the arena’s suites. Enhancing the evening was Bueckers performing her best Santa Claus imitation, presenting brand new iPhones to each of her teammates.
“Christmas isn’t finished … a shout out to Verizon,” she mentioned in a clip that appeared on her Instagram story and has since been circulated on other platforms, including X.
As anticipated, it was a gesture that her teammates valued highly, as they responded with enthusiasm.
“She simply entered with all those iPhones.” “We were all taken aback,” Jana El Alfy stated, through Christine Butterfield of CT Insider. “I’m honored to be her teammate, just thinking about it.”
Another teammate, Sarah Strong, expressed immense gratitude too.
“It felt completely wild to consider, yet we were undeniably appreciative and thankful for the phones.” “We truly value her,” the freshman expressed.
This isn’t the first occasion that the Huskies star has leveraged her NIL opportunities to treat her teammates with some thoughtful gifts.
Two years back, she and Azzi Fudd gifted everyone Bose headphones for the holidays. Earlier this season, Bueckers made history as the first NIL athlete to create and release a player edition shoe with Nike, which was given to all her teammates.
In a media session on Tuesday, fellow teammate Kaitlyn Chen displayed her phone, which was covered in cracks on both the front screen and back. Bueckers’s kindness arrived at an ideal moment.
“And as you can tell, my phone is a bit damaged, making it a perfectly timed Christmas gift for me,” Chen remarked with a grin.
One aspect that numerous UConn supporters will observe in the video is that Bueckers is walking without a significant limp. That could be the key point, as it indicates that the knee and ankle injury that sidelined her during Sunday’s game against the Villanova Wildcats is not as severe as initially believed.
Head coach Geno Auriemma stated on Tuesday that his star player was anticipated to return to the lineup next week after recovering from a knee sprain.
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