WNBA star Angel Reese made a shocking confession about her salary.
On Tuesday (October 15), the women's professional basketball player shared a photo of herself on Instagram Live at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City. During the live broadcast, the 22-year-old Chicago Sky forward revealed that she “wouldn't even be able to live on” on her yearly basketball salary alone.
“I just hope you know that the WNBA doesn't pay my bills at all,” Reese said in the audio posted by Connected Sound. “I don't even think it'll cover my bills.” I'm literally trying to think about the rent for the place I'm staying (in Chicago). I'll do the math very quickly.
After the Louisiana State University graduate calculated her expenses and found her rent was $8,000 a month, Reese exclaimed, “I'm living beyond my means!”
“If I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to eat even a sandwich,” she added. “I wouldn't be able to eat. I wouldn't be able to live.”
In 2024, Reese signed a four-year contract with the Chicago Sky worth $324,383. According to Intelligence, an online sports finance website, Reese is expected to earn an annual salary of $73,439 for the 2024 WNBA season.
However, like fellow WNBA star Caitlin Clark, Reese stood to earn over $1 million from brand deals and endorsements. Last year, she signed a multi-year agreement with Reebok, under which the basketball star created her personal collection of products called “Angel's Picks”.
In addition to the sportswear brand, Reese has signed endorsement deals with brands including Beats by Dre, Tampax, Airbnb, Amazon, Playstation, Bose, Raising Cane's, Sonic and Mielle Organics, worth a total estimated $1.8 million for Spotrac.
Reese isn't the only one The WNBA star sparked outrage with his rookie salary. After Clark was selected as the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft during the Indiana Fever, the 22-year-old athlete signed a four-year contract worth $338,056. This year, she earned $76,535 in her rookie season and is estimated to earn $97,582 annually by the end of her four-year contract.
It didn't take long for fans to notice that WNBA players earned significantly less than their WNBA counterparts. NBA. “The greatest player in college basketball history just got an entry-level project manager salary,” one fan wrote on X/Twitter in response to Clark's four-year contract.
“It's not true, they have made more headlines than any other player currently playing,” another person said. “Pay women in sports what they deserve.”
Even US President Joe Biden called for female athletes to be “paid what they deserve” amid outrage over Clark's first-year salary. “Women in sports continue to break new boundaries and inspire us all,” he began his post on X. “But now we see that even when you are the best, women don't get their fair share of the rewards.
“It's time we give our daughters the same opportunities as our sons and make sure women get the wages they deserve,” Biden added.
Currently, the WNBA earns approximately $60 million annually from media rights sales and licensing deals with Amazon, CBS and ION. Sports at the reception reports. That's compared to the average NBA team, which is worth about $3.85 billion, while the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers are each worth more than $6 billion. Forbes.
