At 22, Angel Reese is already one of the faces of the WNBA.
The New York Liberty may have just won the 2024 WNBA Finals but Chicago Sky forward Reese and longtime rival Caitlin Clark are already the two biggest names in women’s basketball.
However, despite Reese’s obvious talents and growing celebrity status, the 22-year-old recently admitted her WNBA salary isn’t enough to cover her rent.
“I just hope you know the WNBA don’t pay my bills at all,” Reese, who is set to earn an annual rookie salary of $73,439 for 2024, said during a live-stream.
“I don’t even think that pays one of my bills. Literally, I’m trying to think of my rent for where I stay at [in Chicago]. I’m gonna do the math real quick.”
The former LSU star then quickly calculated her spending, noting that her rent is $8,000 per month.
Reese exclaimed: “I’m living beyond my means!”
“I wouldn’t even be able to get a sandwich if I wanted to,” she added. “I wouldn’t be able to eat. I wouldn’t be able to live.”
Luckily for Reese, her salary is supplemented by several lucrative endorsements with the likes of Reebok, Beats by Dre, Wingstop, Xfinity, Raising Cane’s, Panini America and Reece’s Pieces.
As a result, she has a reported net worth of $2 million.
And now the ‘Bayou Barbie’ looks set to add another revenue stream to her growing portfolio thanks to the new 3-vs-3 basketball league Unrivaled which she is confirmed to take part in.
The project — spearheaded by WNBA Finals foes Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier — is set to begin on January 17, 2025, and Reese, along with many other WNBA stars, has already signed up to play.
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TNT Sports announced its multiyear media rights agreement with Unrivaled, with primetime games set to air on TNT on Mondays and Fridays, and on TruTV on Saturdays over an eight-week span.
Rookie of the Year runner-up Reese will play on an Unrivaled team in Miami, and recently spoke about what she’s expecting from the new league.
She revealed what she wants to accomplish during the league’s debut season while subtly throwing shade at the WNBA over its lack of equity for players.
“i’m excited for the league’s first season!” Reese said of Unrivaled.
“It’s amazing to be a part of a league that gives equity to players.
“I’m looking forward to playing with the best athletes and really using the time to focus on my game and getting better too.
“Being able to be in Miami from January to March, not having to go overseas,” Reese previously said. “Nobody wants to go overseas.”
“Being able to make six figures within three months,” she added.
“Being able to be housed in Miami, just being able to get better, being able to know two great players that are starting something, I think it’s amazing.”
Unrivaled is unique in the sense that it has committed ownership equity to the league’s first 30 players, which includes the likes of Kelsey Plum, Chelsea Gray, and Brittany Griner, and has the highest average salary in women’s sports history.
That’s in stark contrast to how the WNBA operates and how it distributes revenue across the league.
Where the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for players guarantees them a 50-percent cut of the organization’s basketball-related income, the WNBA’s CBA has no such language.
Last year, WNBA players only received around 20% of revenue shares. They get a 50-50 split of incremental revenue, just not all revenue.
WNBA salaries are significantly lower than those in the NBA, too. While the average NBA player salary last season was more than $10 million annually, the highest WNBA player salary this season is $252,420, earned by Las Vegas Aces star Jackie Young.
The W’s players are continuing to fight back against the pay disparity though, asking for more equity in the league’s shared revenues.
Players won’t be able to negotiate for those changes until 2025, which is when the current CBA expires.
However, even with the league’s recent agreement on a lucrative new TV broadcast rights deal, there’s growing speculation that WNBA players might look to opt out of their existing CBA by the November 1 deadline, aiming for substantially better terms in future negotiations.
The potential for a new CBA could have serious ramifications for the league, affecting payscales and free agency which would likely be effective as of 2026.
