“The WNBA don’t pay my bills at all,” said Angel Reese during an Instagram Live earlier this year. Some called her ungrateful, others applauded her honesty. But either way, she wasn’t wrong. Her rookie salary? Just $73,439, according to Spotrac. That’s for the entire season-not much when you consider she pays $8,000 a month in rent. Do the math: her WNBA paycheck doesn’t even cover her housing.
Reese’s comment wasn’t just a hot take-it was a reflection of a larger conversation that’s been building in women’s basketball. After a record-breaking 2024 WNBA season, players decided it was time to renegotiate. The WNBPA opted out of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement, setting the stage for a fight over pay, benefits, and the future of the game.
WNBA veteran and union VP Napheesa Collier laid it out plainly on Outside the Lines: “We get such a small percentage of revenue share right now… We’re asking for something more equitable.” Reese, always vocal and tuned in to the business side, said on her podcast Unapologetically Angel that players are prepared to sit out if things don’t change.
Rookie contracts, star power, and an awkward reality
That conversation hit a little harder this week after reports that some top college stars could earn more than Reese when they finally enter the league.
Flau’jae Johnson, Reese’s LSU teammate and one of the top prospects in the 2025 WNBA draft class, chose to stay in college another year. One of her reasons? The uncertainty around the new CBA. “You got to think about the CBA and all of that,” she said, hinting that it didn’t make sense to lock herself into a low rookie contract while negotiations were still in flux.
If a new deal raises the rookie pay scale-as many expect-it’s entirely possible that Johnson and others like Notre Dame’s Olivia Miles and UConn’s Azzi Fudd will make more than both Reese and Caitlin Clark did as rookies. Not because they’re better players, but because they waited.
And that doesn’t exactly sit right.
Reese actually called this out months ago: “The ones coming in the year after-they’re about to be making more than us.” It wasn’t a complaint as much as it was a heads-up. Her generation helped spark the WNBA’s surge in popularity. And now, they might get leapfrogged-financially speaking-by players who are reaping the benefits of a wave they helped build.
But through it all, she’s stayed optimistic. Sitting down with fellow Baltimore native Chrisean Rock on her podcast, Reese opened up about the future. “We hadn’t got the money worth just yet, but it’s coming,” she said. “Trust me, it’s coming.”
It’s not just about cash-it’s about credit. Recognition. Respect.
The WNBA is changing fast. With record-breaking viewership in 2024 and a new $2.2 billion media rights deal already locked in, per The Athletic, the money is finally starting to move. Add in competition from other leagues like 3-on-3 Unrivaled, where average salaries reportedly top $220,000, and the pressure is on.
Players like Angel Reese helped make this moment possible. Whether the new CBA reflects that is what everyone’s watching for.
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