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Paige Buckers: ‘I’m not prepared’ for rush of NIL opportunities

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(Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

One of the most marketable players in college basketball, Paige Bueckers isn’t in a rush to jump headfirst into all of the NIL opportunities that have come her way.

“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Bueckers said at Big East Media Day on Tuesday. “Lot of photoshoots, lot of interviews, lot of stuff that you have to do behind the scenes. I’m not certainly prepared for all of that. So I’ve been taking it slow. I’m trying not to rush into it too much.”

But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have anything planned. Thanks to an interim NCAA policy passed on July 1, college athletes can profit off of their name, image and likeness for the first time this year.

Currently, Bueckers is signed on with Wasserman, the sports agency that also represents former Vanderbilt football player and current North Texas soccer player Sarah Fuller. Bueckers also filed a trademark application for the phrase “Paige Buckets,” though it’s unclear how Bueckers intends to use the moniker.

She added Tuesday that is “trying to get everything done” before UConn tips off on Nov. 14, suggesting she has been working on something that will be ready by the start of the season.

“Once the basketball season starts, that’s my main and only focus,” she said. “My agent knows that, and everybody that works with me knows that.”