Latest news with #Name
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Inside Paige Bueckers' net worth, girlfriend reveal and road to WNBA glory
Image: Paige Bueckers is officially living her best life on and off the court. The reigning 2025 WNBA Rookie of the Year is bringing style, swagger, and serious game to the Dallas Wings. But the buzz is that she's now confirmed a romantic relationship with none other than her former UConn teammate and fellow star guard, Azzi Fudd. That reveal came during All-Star Weekend in July 2025 on WAG Talk's orange-carpet quiz titled 'How well do you know your D‑1 girlfriend?' When asked to name who she was dating, Bueckers grinned and said, 'Azzi Fudd' — officially ending months of speculation sparked by viral hints like Fudd's phone case declaring 'Paige Bueckers' Girlfriend', matching necklaces, cozy selfies, and public outings together. Their connection goes way back—they first bonded at USA Basketball camps as teenagers, played side by side at UConn, and helped lead the Huskies to their 2025 national championship. With Azzi set to return to college in 2025–26 and eyeing the WNBA in 2026, the duo is shaping up to be one of women's basketball's most compelling 'power couples.' Born October 20, 2001, in Edina, Minnesota, Paige Madison Bueckers grew up in nearby St. Louis Park. . Her dad, Bob Bueckers, is a software engineer who coached her youth basketball teams. Her mom, Amy Fuller (Dettbarn), was a college-level cross‑country and track athlete and later became a dental-equipment specialist. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo As of mid‑2025, reports suggestPaige Bueckers is estimated to have a net worth of roughly $1.4 to $1.5 million. This isn't your typical pro-athlete payday — she built most of that fortune during college due to Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) deals that set new benchmarks for female athletes. Her NIL earnings are estimated at around $1.4 million in 2024–25 alone. Now that she's been drafted No. 1 overall by the Dallas Wings, her four‑year rookie WNBA contract is worth about $348,000 total, starting at around $78,800 in 2025 and increasing modestly each year through 2028. Key achievements Won the 2021 Naismith College Player of the Year as a freshman, a first in NCAA history. Led UConn to another national championship in April 2025, ending a nine‑year title drought In 2025, she was unanimously voted AP first‑team All‑American and earned multiple top awards including the Wade Trophy, Nancy Lieberman Award, and Big East Player of the Year Averaged approximately 19.8 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals per game, shooting around 54.5% from the field during her senior season Paige Bueckers is already a generational talent — on the court, off the court, and on your timeline. At just 23, she's smashing records, redefining what NIL can do for women's sports, and handling fame with an impressive mix of grace, honesty, and humor. She's building her legacy one trademark, one endorsement, and one clutch bucket at a time.
USA Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
College sports leaders shouldn't get too excited about Trump NIL executive order
It's not a great sign for President Trump's potential involvement in college sports when people who work in college sports are caught off-guard after word of a forthcoming executive order leaks out of the White House. And yet that was the case Wednesday after CBS reported the night before that Trump intended to sign one 'establishing national standards for the NCAA's Name, Image and Likeness program' in the coming days. What does that mean exactly? People who are generally informed on the interplay between college sports and the federal government didn't seem to know an executive order was imminent or what exactly would be in it – even folks with a direct line to Trump and who have engaged with about potential federal action that would bail college sports out of its current dysfunction. So now we wait. For something – or maybe nothing. With the Trump Administration, you can never quite tell. What we do know, however, is that the White House has, in fact, been working on something in the form of a likely executive order since Trump met with former Alabama coach Nick Saban at the school's graduation ceremony in May. Regardless of what's ultimately in it, however, coaches and administrators should resist the temptation to get excited about the possibility of Trump saving the day for a few simple, but important reasons. An executive order isn't a law. College sports and the NCAA do not operate under the purview of the executive branch of the federal government, thus any executive order compelling them to do anything would be legally questionable at best. And finally, any so-called 'fix' for college sports made with the stroke of one man's pen can be undone by the next one who occupies that office. UNWANTED TALK: Nick Saban rumor is last thing Alabama needs Sorry, college sports executives. You're going to have to actually do the work on this one. We know that's not easy, which makes the temptation to rely on Trump more tempting. It's been nearly six years since the NCAA pivoted toward begging Congress for relief from its never-ending string of lawsuits, and so far they've gotten no reward for their effort. Unless, of course, you consider it a reward to be dragged into more committee hearings to answer ridiculous, superficial questions from legislators who know as much about college sports as they do about the Finnish language. Oh sure, there's another bill on the way. And this one apparently has bipartisan support in the House. But then there's the Senate, where the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., last week called it 'the National Championship of all heists' because it is too favorable to the NCAA's interests. Remember, any bill must get 60 votes due to filibuster rules in the Senate, which means a minimum of seven Democrats will need to sign off on it. That's not going to be easy, especially if it puts hard caps on how much college athletes can earn and eliminates the potential to bargain collectively for their rights in the future. Purely from a political standpoint, I'm not sure why Senate Democrats would cooperate at all here. If a bill finally passes that fixes some issues with the NCAA, they won't get credit – because Trump will take it. And he'll play it to the hilt, which doesn't seem particularly helpful to their electoral goals heading into the midterms next year. That's just how stuff works in Washington, and both parties play that game on issues far more serious and important than the NCAA's ability to regulate the transfer portal. It's part of why the NCAA's 'let Congress fix our mess' strategy has been a complete failure thus far and may never pay off. At the end of the day, there's a lot more upside for Congress to use college sports as a political plaything than to make a law that will only impact a relatively small number of people and isn't an urgent matter of national interest. But a 'let Trump fix it' strategy could be worse, particularly right now as institutions are scrambling to implement terms of the House vs. NCAA settlement that allow athletic departments to pay their athletes directly. At the moment, the House settlement and the College Sports Commission – a regulatory body created by the power conferences to enforce the settlement rules – hold the key to how college sports will operate over the next several years. Will the CSC get sued by athletes and booster collectives whose deals get denied because they aren't considered true NIL? Of course, but they already knew that. Unless Congress quickly grants college sports some type of antitrust exemption, the CSC will have to go in front of a judge and show that it follows the law to continue having regulatory power over college athletes' paychecks. That's really the only issue worth talking about right now, regardless of what Trump may write in an executive order. And what can he possibly do anyway? Maybe he can decree that college athletes can't be made employees through some type of National Labor Relations Board policy -- but they already aren't. So unless the NCAA is going to become a federal agency, where the president would have significant legal authority to regulate it, anything in an executive order is mostly going to be performative. And anything that touches actual NCAA business like the transfer portal or limiting how athletes earn money stands on far shakier legal ground than the guardrails that were already installed through the House settlement. Regardless of which direction a president wants to take college sports – any president, for the record – the fundamental problem will not change no matter who's in the office or how many executive orders they write. By refusing to engage in a true collective bargaining effort that mimics the relationship between the NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB and their respective players associations, the college sports industry left itself in a vulnerable position where any attempt to enforce its rules will face legal scrutiny. For better or worse, that's the American Way. And at this point, the focus of college sports should be long-term stability through the appropriate legal and legislative means instead of a flimsy proclamation. Colleges need to be especially careful right now. We've seen how the Trump Administration strongarms schools it has ideological disagreements with: Withholding federal grants, deporting international students, pressuring university presidents to resign. His involvement in college sports issues on behalf of the NCAA's immediate interests is going to inevitably create the appearance of long-term leverage. As frustrated as college sports executives might be with Jeffrey Kessler and other sports attorneys who keep them in court, creating space for tussles with this White House might not be the best tradeoff. Keep all that in mind when Trump issues his mysterious executive order. Because at the end of the day, only the people in charge of college sports can truly save it – no matter how much a president is itching to claim credit for doing so.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
'I put the brakes on that one' - how Goldberg blocked WWE's NIL deal for his son
Bill Goldberg and Gage Goldberg (Image via X) Goldberg's legendary wrestling career may have ended at Saturday Night's Main Event, but he is still calling the shots, especially when it comes to his son's future . The Hall of Famer faced Gunther in what was billed as his retirement match, receiving a hero's send-off with nods to his WCW legacy and emotional tributes. But behind the curtain, there was more than just nostalgia. WWE tried to start a new Goldberg chapter with Gage Goldberg, Bill's son, by offering him an NIL deal. However, Goldberg revealed he turned it down after seeing the numbers. While Gage's potential in wrestling is obvious, his dad believes the time needs to be right before stepping into WWE. Goldberg says no to WWE's NIL deal for Gage Despite WWE's eagerness to bring Gage Goldberg into the fold, the wrestling legend isn't quite ready to hand his son over to the squared circle. In a recent interview with The Ariel Helwani Show, Goldberg explained that WWE offered Gage an NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deal, a program created to sign college athletes to developmental contracts before they even train at the Performance Center. But Goldberg had concerns, especially when he saw how little money was involved. 'They tried to give him an NIL (deal), but when I found out how much they were going to give him, I put the brakes on that one.' Goldberg, Stephen Thompson, Chris Curtis, Patricio Pitbull, Steve Garcia, Mario Barrios, | 7/15/25 He did not rule out a future in wrestling for his son, though, adding that WWE would be 'ignorant' not to see Gage's potential. For now, the younger Goldberg has his focus elsewhere, and that is perfectly fine with dad. Gage Goldberg's dream lies on the football field While wrestling is in Gage's blood, it is not his first love. The University of Colorado athlete is currently playing college football under the legendary Deion Sanders. In fact, Gage has been vocal about wanting to make it big in football, calling WWE a 'backup plan.' His father confirmed that mindset, saying 'The kid is like me. He wants to be a football player. That's a dream of his… He's got it in his blood. But it's not his priority right now.' The Goldberg Family (Image via Instagram) Goldberg made it clear that Gage still has time, and there's no rush to jump into the WWE spotlight. The NIL deal may be off the table for now, but the door is not completely shut, especially if the price (and timing) is right. While WWE may have closed the chapter on Bill Goldberg 's in-ring career, the next generation is not far behind. Gage Goldberg's future in pro wrestling remains a possibility, but for now, his focus is firmly on the gridiron. If and when he does step into a WWE ring, it'll be on his terms, and likely with a much better deal. Also Read: 'I can see this sparkle in Gage's eyes': Triple H sees star potential in Bill Goldberg's son for WWE future Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
eNCA
7 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
US pro athletes reject antitrust exemptions for college sports
WASHINGTON - Professional players' unions for the five major US sports leagues -- baseball, soccer, basketball, football and hockey -- appealed for American lawmakers to reject antitrust exemptions or legal liability shields in new regulations for college athletes. While compensation for professional players seemingly knows no limit, college athletes in the US have only been allowed to begin profiting from their performance and reputation in recent years. Now, professional players are weighing in as Congress works to develop a national framework for student athlete profit-sharing, with pros saying they felt a duty to protect future union members while they played in college. "Granting an antitrust exemption to the NCAA and its members gives the green light for the organisation and schools to collude and work against student athletes," the unions' statement said. "Historically, antitrust exemptions have been used to set prices, limit wages, and restrict access to opportunities provided by open markets, all while shielding abuse from legal recourse." The joint statement was sent by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA). The US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act after a House settlement last month ensured National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes will receive revenue sharing from their schools for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) profits. In a statement last week Congressman Gus Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, said a national framework governing such profit-sharing was long overdue, and praised the SCORE Act saying it "delivers the stability, clarity and transparency" student athletes and colleges need. A 2021 Supreme Court decision held that the NCAA is subject to antitrust laws. In their joint statement, the players' unions called for transparency and fair dealing. "It is not hard to imagine a situation where NCAA and its members collude to restrict revenue sharing and deny student athletes fair compensation with the confidence of immunity against legal action. Indeed, they have been doing exactly that for decades.
Int'l Business Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
US Pro Athletes Reject Antitrust Exemptions For College Sports
Professional players unions for the five major US sports leagues -- baseball, soccer, basketball, football and hockey -- appealed on Monday for American lawmakers to reject antitrust exemptions or legal liability shields in new regulations for college athletes. While compensation for professional players seemingly knows no limit, college athletes in the US have only been allowed to begin profiting from their performance and reputation in recent years. Now, professional players are weighing in as Congress works to develop a national framework for student athlete profit-sharing, with pros saying they felt a duty to protect future union members while they played in college. "Granting an antitrust exemption to the NCAA and its members gives the green light for the organization and schools to collude and work against student athletes," the unions' statement said. "Historically, antitrust exemptions have been used to set prices, limit wages, and restrict access to opportunities provided by open markets, all while shielding abuse from legal recourse." The joint statement was sent by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA). The US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act after a House settlement last month ensured National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes will receive revenue sharing from their schools for Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) profits. In a statement last week Congressman Gus Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, said a national framework governing such profit-sharing was long overdue, and praised the SCORE Act saying it "delivers the stability, clarity and transparency" student athletes and colleges need. A 2021 Supreme Court decision held that the NCAA is subject to antitrust laws. In their joint statement, the players' unions called for transparency and fair-dealing. "It is not hard to imagine a situation where NCAA and its members collude to restrict revenue sharing and deny student athletes fair compensation with the confidence of immunity against legal action. Indeed, they have been doing exactly that for decades. "The NCAA should not have a blank check to impose their will on the financial future of over 500,000 college athletes."
