Angel Reese’s Net Worth in 2024: From Brand Deals to WNBA Earnings

The Chicago Sky forward is having an incredible rookie season in the league.

Angel Reese / Barry Gossage/Getty Images

With SI Swimsuit’s Net Worth Series: Empowering Equal Pay, our goal is to shine a light on incredible athletes while examining income disparities and promoting equal pay across industries.

In just 22 years, Angel Reese has accomplished more than many people dream of achieving in a lifetime. In April of 2023, the Maryland native helped lead the LSU Tigers to the school’s first NCAA women’s basketball championship. The forward, who is also known by her nickname “Bayou Barbie,” was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four last year. And shortly thereafter, the athlete made her SI Swimsuit debut after being photographed by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles.

A star both on and off the court, Reese was selected to appear within the pages of last year’s SI Swimsuit Issue due to her advocacy for growing the sport she loves so much. Editor in chief MJ Day said it best: “Her intensity, drive and passion around being unapologetically herself and speaking up for what she believes in is helping move the needle forward for women in sports and is liberating the next generation to feel seen and heard.”

Since being selected No. 7 overall to the Chicago Sky during the WNBA Draft in April, Reese has been making a name for herself in the league. The Rookie of the Year contender broke the WNBA record for most double-doubles during a single season and averages 13.3 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists during the regular season.

Angel Reese / Michael Hickey/Getty Images

How did Angel Reese get her start?

Reese, who comes from an athletic background, was always interested in sports as a child and tried her hand at several different ones before deciding to pursue basketball. Her mother, also named Angel, played basketball at UMBC, but allowed Reese to explore her own options.

“[My mom] let me do whatever. I ran track; I did volleyball; I did a little bit of swimming, gymnastics and cheer,” she told SI Swimsuit last year. “She never put it on me that I had to play basketball because she did, so she let me experience and do whatever I wanted to do. I just finally decided basketball was going to be my thing. I was kind of good at it, and I was really competitive.”

Angel Reese was photographed by Yu Tsai in Los Angeles. / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

At the high school level, Reese played basketball at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore and was considered a five-star recruit. She committed to Maryland in 2019 and played her freshman season in 2020-21.

Angel Reese college career

During her freshman season at Maryland, Reese played in 15 games but missed nearly half the season due to a foot injury. Throughout the season, she averaged 10 points and six rebounds. When her sophomore season rolled around (2021-22), Reese led her team in scoring in 17 games and rebounding in 26 games.

“I can always just go out there and release anything going on in my life,” Reese previously told us of feeling at home on the basketball court. “When I go to the gym, everything else going on in my life just doesn’t matter. I’m out there having fun, releasing all my feelings, going hard, working hard and just loving the game.”

Angel Reese / Andy Lyons/Getty Images

In the spring of 2022, Reese entered the transfer portal and ended up relocating to LSU for her junior and senior seasons. During the 2022-23 season, she averaged 23 points per game and set an NCAA record with 34 double-doubles during the season. Her senior season (2023-24) included the aforementioned NCAA women’s basketball championship victory, and Reese led the SEC in both scoring and rebounding for the second year in a row, with 18.6 points per game and 13.4 rebounds per game, respectively.

Angel Reese 2024 salary

Earlier this year, Reese signed a four-year, $324,383 contract with the Chicago Sky, and her first year’s salary is set at $73,439, according to Her Hoop Stats. Her annual earnings will increase through 2027, the final and fourth year of her contract, which is a team option (meaning the Sky can either decide to keep Reese or release her at that time).

Here’s how Reese’s salary could potentially shake out over the next few years:

Year	Salary
2024	$73,439
2025	$74,909
2026	$82,399
2027	$93,636 (Team option)
2028	TBD (Resticted free agent)

Angel Reese endorsement deals and brand partners

In April of 2023, Reese’s NIL earnings surpassed $1 million, per On3. Throughout her collegiate career, she assembled brand deals with the likes of Goldman Sachs, Mercedes-Benz Baton Rouge, McDonald’s, Coach and others. The athlete has also partnered with companies like Mielle Organics, PlayStation, Raising Cane’s, Pepsi, Tampax and Reebok.

Angel Reese / Gary Dineen/Getty Images

When Reese signed with Reebok last fall, she became the first collegiate athlete to partner with the shoe brand on an NIL deal. And as for her partnership with Mielle Organics, brand founder and CEO Monique Rodriguez said Reese was selected in the hopes of bridging the gap between sports and beauty—something the Bayou Barbie excels at.

“The confidence, boldness and resilience [Reese] embodies on and off the court are some of the qualities we look for when we choose brand ambassadors—she’s inspirational,” Rodriguez stated.

Angel Reese net worth

Taking into account Reese’s NIL earnings, 2024 WNBA salary and existing brand deals and partnerships, her net worth is estimated to be between $1.4 and $1.5 million. However, some sources have placed it slightly higher, at around $1.8 to $2 million.

Angel Reese / Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images

Angel Reese’s net worth compared to NBA rookies

Though Reese’s net worth numbers are just an estimate, comparable projections are available for NBA rookies that allow us to draw a rough comparison between women and men who play the same sport when it comes to salary.

Zaccharie Risacher, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, was selected to the Atlanta Hawks in June. According to Sportac, the first draft pick is expected to make $57,027,437 over four years, with an approximate salary of $12.6 million in the first year.

For comparison’s sake, Donovan Clingan, who was selected No. 7 in the 2024 NBA Draft to the Portland Trail Blazers, is projected to make $31 million over four years, with a salary of $6.8 million during his rookie year. That means Clingan is expected to make roughly $6.7 million more than Reese during their rookie seasons alone.

It’s clear that Reese, who is at the top of her game, is being short-changed for her talents, particularly when we examine what her male counterparts are making in the NBA.

manual