Angel Reese Is Worth Far More Than Her Salary — She's Priceless!

When she was in college, Angel Reese was the talk of the town, dubbed the NIL Queen for her record-breaking endorsements and sponsorship deals. Now, however, Angel has moved on to the WNBA as she plays with the Chicago Sky team. When Angel, who was mentored directly by Shaquille O’Neal, graduated from Louisiana State University, the next step in her athletic career seemed to be … a pay cut.

Men’s sports have long outshined women’s sports. In fact, the highest WNBA salary, which is about $250,000, is lower than the lowest starting NBA salary, proving how wide the gender pay gap is when it comes to sports. But now that big stars like Angel and her rival, Caitlin Clark, have gone pro, fans are hoping things will change.

Angel was hit with a $1,000 fine after refusing to speak to the media after a tough game against Caitlin’s Indiana Fever. When one pundit realized this was 1.4% of her rookie salary — a male equivalent of 1.4% of their salary being $142,852—fans have been wondering what Angel’s salary and net worth are.

While in college, Angel made a name for herself because of both her immense talent and her unabashed on-court personality. This led to several NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals that have funded her ability to join the WNBA. Now that college athletes are allowed to take sponsorships, Angel is one of the highest-paid college athletes of all time. In a March 2023 report, she was ranked eighth for NIL earnings among college athletes at around $1.7 million.

Angel has partnered with over 17 companies throughout college, which may continue through her professional basketball career. These deals include endorsements from Sports Illustrated, Calvin Klein, Outback Steakhouse, Reebok, Amazon, and Playstation, just to name a few. During her senior year, Angel added Beats by Dre, Tampax, and more to the list, making her net worth at least $2 million.

However, she’s since used much of that money for good. She started a foundation in Baton Rouge called the Angel C. Reese Foundation that is “dedicated to fostering equity for girls and underrepresented groups through innovative and impactful initiatives” as well as “to ensure equal opportunities for all girls in sports, education, financial literacy, and other areas where girls have been historically overlooked.”

The average American salary is $63,795, and Angel, a national treasure and basketball star, is making just $73,439 in her rookie year of basketball. The 4-year contract she signed with Chicago Sky is worth just $324,383, lower than most 1-year salaries in the NBA. For comparison, Angel’s NBA comparison — a rookie 7th overall draft pick named Bilal Coulibaly — was awarded a $30 million contract.

But it doesn’t seem to bother Angel. In an interview with ESPN’s Michele Steele, she shared, "I mean, obviously, people thought me leaving college–I would take a huge pay gap and pay drop," the Chicago Sky rookie said. "I wasn't getting paid in college, so that check that I do get here is a bonus. I mean, 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."

"I mean, I play the game I love, not for the money, I play because I love basketball and genuinely love basketball," she added. "And now that I'm a pro and being able to continue to work with these brands long term, I think that's something people don't really realize … I love that the brands want to work with us and continue to want to work with us ... I want people to know the deals don't stop in college when you go to the pros, they continue, and I feel like they've even grown even more."

Thanks to Angel’s sponsorship deals, it seems like her net worth is just fine, despite her salary.