When Angel Reese talks on social media, does an interview on her “Unapologetically Angel” podcast or does a controversial photo shoot in lingerie or tweets something after Caitlin Clark wins an award, she has indeed become the modern-day EF Hutton, because everybody is paying attention.
Problem is, her entire fan base is very emotionally driven, so it’s easy to gaslight them, especially about WNBA business and player’s salaries — an issue most fans, especially new WNBA fans, don’t even bother to research.
Angel Reese Pays $8K A Month In Rent, But Only Makes $74,000 In WNBA Salary
Angel Reese said online that she pays $8,000 a month in rent, totaling $96,000 a year and her yearly WNBA salary of $74,000 isn’t enough to cover her bills.
People who question why Reese spends so much time curating her social media, making public appearances with other celebrities and doing things that some people might call “distasteful” or even too “hood,” need only to look at the WNBA salaries.
When you compare the WNBA player salaries to their male counterparts the wage gap is tremendous as the average NBA salary is $12 million, while the highest-paid WNBA players make just over $250,000.
Angel Reese Says The Social Media Hate and Her Brand Recognition Pays The Bills
So, Reese’s brand collaborations and social media presence pays the bills. She clearly has a certain standard of living she wants to maintain and in her words:
“Hating pays the bills baby I hope y’all know. The WNBA doesn’t pay my bills.
“I don’t think that pays one of my bills.”
After someone off camera helped Reese tally up all of her bills and compare them to her WNBA salary, Reese joked, “I’m living beyond my means, like ya’ll think.”
Responses to Reese’s proclamation varied. Some fans did suggest that she was living beyond her means.
One X user questioned her financial literacy, saying: “Paying $8k/month for rent instead of buying a home with that kind of monthly payment is pure stupidity.”
Said another X user: “Clearly she didnt attend the mandatory wnba/nba class for rookies about not spending more than you make…”
Angel Reese Fans Don’t Understand Collective Bargaining
Others went on the familiar rampage against the WNBA and how their players are grossly underpaid.
“We need to end the gender pay gap in this country,” said one X user under the video post.
Most of those fans, however, have no idea that collective bargaining agreement between the WNBA and the WNBA Players Association determine league salaries.
In 2020, they agreed on a collective bargaining deal that upgraded travel and brought average salaries over the $100K mark it is now. The deal is supposed to last through 2027, but the players are sure to opt out this November and return to the negotiating table.
There’s no guarantee that there will be this huge spike in salaries due to the $2 billion media rights deal the league secured through the NBA, the rise in rating and attendance.
Game 1 of the New York Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx WNBA Finals drew a record 1.3 million viewers.
The potential is there but fans need to understand that the league is still working out of a hole financially and just seeing an upswing.
Reese gets paid what she is slotted according to the agreement that the players ratified.
After being selected seventh overall in the 2024 WNBA draft, Reese inked a four-year, $324,383 deal with the Sky, cashing just $73,439 as a rookie in Chicago and will see her salary slightly increase to $74,909 in 2025. Rookie contracts operate on a sliding scale.
As one of the first four picks Caitlin Clark received a four-year contract worth $338,056.
Those taken in the next four picks landed $324,383 deals while players who were selected in the final four picks of the first round inked $310,718 contracts. Second and third-rounders fielded offers of $297,045 and $276,830, respectively.
Angel Reese is Queen of WNBA Brand Hustle
Reese’s net worth, however, is valued at $1.5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. She’s been getting big NIL checks since she was flashing the “Tony Yayo” and blowing up with Clark in college.
Despite her low salary as a WNBA pro, Reese is the queen of the hustle in the WNBA — on and off the court — and has supplemented her income by inking some heavy endorsement deals with Reese’s Pieces, Mercedes-Benz, Beats by Dre, Goldman Sachs, Topps, and Hershey’s.
Said One X user with an understanding of how Reese is able to live above her means, “Everyone talking about her Wnba salary acting like she don’t make Millions off Endorsements”
Reese also agreed to a multi-year deal with Reebok in August, becoming the shoe brand’s first-ever women’s basketball client. There are also rumors of a signature shoe in her future.
The bottom line is business and as the WNBA grows as a revenue-producing entity, the players will have more bargaining power. In the meantime, you can’t knock Reese for hustling because she has bills to pay and complaining doesn’t get them paid.
But, as she said, “hating pays the bills.”
