WNBA standout Angel Reese has been hit with backlash over her recent comments about her salary rather. During an Instagram Live session on Oct. 15, the Chicago Sky forward revealed that her WNBA paycheck is not enough to cover her rent or any of her other bills.
What Angel Said
“Hating pays them bills, baby. I just hope you know the WNBA don’t pay my bills at all,” she said. “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. Let me do the math real quick. I don’t even know my [WNBA] salary. $74,000?”
One bill is her $8,000 rent per month or $96,000 annually. “I’m living above my means!” Reese, 22, exclaimed, laughing.
She added, “Babe, if y’all thought… That WNBA check don’t pay a thing. Did that even pay my car note?… I wouldn’t even be able to eat a sandwich with that. I wouldn’t even be able to eat. I wouldn’t be able to live.”
This sparked a debate on social media.
What Social Media Said
One person tweeted, “Angel Reese is upset her WNBA salary doesn’t cover her $100,000 a year rent. Incredibly tone-deaf and detached from reality. Live somewhere cheaper!”
Another posted, “Angel Reese is paying the equivalent of a $1M house/condo in rent at $8k a month. Smart people with salaries of even 300k don’t do this. This people is called living outside your means and having zero financial understanding. She’s so out of touch with reality.”
“Are we meant to feel bad for somebody living in a $96,000 dollar a year place?” asked one X user.
But while her WNBA salary might not pay the rent, she seems more than capable of making ends meet. Reese has been able to supplement her income through sponsorships and her new podcast, “Unapologetically Angel.”
Some fans were sympathetic to the wage gap between male and female athletes, with one tweeting, “Angel Reese only making $72K a year in the league is actually kinda insane when they be paying these n-ggas millions. Talk about a damn gender wage gap.”
(Salaries in the WNBA, which is subsidized by the NBA and has lost money every season of of its 27-year existence, were negotiated by the players themselves in their collective bargaining agreement with the league.)
Her Other Money
Reese, recently named one of Sports Illustrated’s 50 Most Influential Athletes of 2024, has shattered WNBA records, including consecutive double-doubles and breaking the single-season rebounding record.
All the hype around the former LSU athlete has generated numerous endorsements raising her net worth to an estimated anywhere between $1.5 and $3 million.
She logged some 17 NIL deals in 2022 and 2023, while still in college, according to USA Today. Some of those endorsement deals include: Sports Illustrated, Calvin Klein, Outback Steakhouse, Reebok, Amazon, Playstation, Mielle Organics, and JanSport.
Earlier this year, Reese inked a four-year, $324,383 contract with the Chicago Sky, according to Spotrac. Her first year she is taking home $73,439, and she will have an increase each season until she hits $93,636 in her fourth year.
Then there are the possible earning incentives such as being picked for the All-Star game, resulting in a $2,575 bonus, reports USA Today.
