WNBA star Angel Reese wants to keep the hate flowing because, she says, it — and not her WNBA salary — is what pays the bills.
Reese vaulted to the top of sports conversation in April 2023 when the then-LSU star made waves showing Iowaâs Caitlin Clark where her championship ring would go after defeating Clarkâs team, pitting them as arch-rivals, with Reese often cast as the villain.
âMy life literally just changed from that game,â Reese told the Wall Street Journal.
And her lifestyle has since outgrown the WNBA salary cap. The Chicago Sky forward made $73,439 as a base salary during the 2024 season and will make $74,909 in 2025, according to Spotrac.
And so she relies on her high-profile image to rake in the big bucks through endorsements.
âHating pays them bills, baby. I just hope y’all know the WNBA donât pay my bills at all,” she said in a video posted to X.
Angel Reese reveals that her rent is $8k a month and that her $74k WNBA earnings can’t cover any of her bills ð pic.twitter.com/zXBN5IZMIU
â sip this âï¸ (@sipthisteaaaaa) October 16, 2024
“I donât even think that pays one of my bills. Literally, Iâm trying to think of my rent for where I stay at. Let me do the math real quick. I donât even know my salary, seventy-four? OK,â she said, evidently plugging numbers into a calculator.
Have you ever watched a WNBA game?
Reese said she is paying $8,000 per month, or $96,000 per year, for rent.
“Iâm living beyond my means!â she laughed.
Speaking of her WNBA salary, she said, “Did that even pay my car note?â
“I wouldnât even be able to eat a sandwich with that. I wouldnât even be able to eat. I wouldnât be able to live,â she said, according to Fox Business, adding, âThat WNBA check donât pay a thing.”
But Reeseâs image created a huge side hustle.
Sports media company On3 paid out $1.8 million for a name, image and likeness deal with Reese, according to ESPN.
In May, Reese said endorsements were her main income.
“That check that I do get here is a bonus,” Reese said then of her WNBA salary. “Being able to play for what, four to five months, and get $75,000 on top of the other endorsements that I’m doing, I think it’s a plus for me.”
Reese will play in Unrivaled, a 3-on-3 women’s league that begins in January. Salaries are projected to be about $250,000.
Fox Business noted that Reese has endorsement deals with Reebok, Beats by Dre, SI Swimsuit, Raising Caneâs and more.
In her Wall Street Journal interview, she said she and Clark have been successful together, and voiced a hope that the togetherness might take a new shape.
âWe brought a lot of fans to this league,â she said. âAnd I think weâre going to continue to do that. And one day, hopefully, weâll be teammates.â
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