With Only $81,096 Salary, Is Angel Reese Chicago Sky’s Lowest-Paid Star?

“I want to start at the bottom again,” Angel Reese commented after she declared for the WNBA draft. She wanted to leave her dazzling college career and an NIL valuation of $1.8m behind to take the next step. The ever-so-high-spirited Chicago Sky rookie is giving her all to be a major part of the team. But her WNBA salary leaves a lot to be desired. While there has been a lot of talk around the pay discrepancy between the NBA and WNBA, Reese is not even a top earner on her own team. So where does she stand?

The No. 5 of Chicago was not a top-5 pick. However, she was a key pickup for the Sky. So much so that they traded the right for the 7th overall pick with the Minnesota Lynx. Currently, her four-year contract with the Sky is worth $324,383. This means her average salary will be $81,096 per year. However, this does not put her at the bottom of the list of the team.

In fact, five players in the locker room of the Illinois-based franchise get lower numbers than Angel Reese, according to Spotrac. These include Brynna Maxwell, formerly from Gonzaga. She was also a part of the 2024 draft and the Sky selected her as the 13th overall pick. She will be earning $74,261 per year. Li Yueru gets the lowest amount in the Sky with $62,307 as her annual payment. Other than these, Taya Reimer, Kysre Gondrezick, and Chennedy Carter get $64,154 as a part of their one-year contracts with Chicago.

Hence, Reese is not in the lowest rank here. And despite being a rookie, she was able to snatch a spot as a starter in her debut pre-season game.

Angel Reese showed out against the Lynx

Tonight, the Chicago Sky locked horns against the Minnesota Lynx. Before the trade that took place prior to the draft, everyone could have probably seen Reese playing in the Target Center in Minneapolis. However, tonight became an exhibition game as the No. 5 in Chicago not only made it to the starting lineup for her team but also gave the Lynx a hard time.

The Sky may not have won tonight but Reese was able to establish her dominance in her debut game. She grabbed a game-high of 9 rebounds along with 13 points in 24 minutes. Hence, even the official Instagram account of Chicago couldn’t resist but show off the rookie talent as she missed a debut double-double by a whisker.

While Kamilla Cardoso started the game on the bench, she did give her new home crowd a trailer for her skills. She had 6 points and 4 rebounds in 13-minute floor time. At the same time, Maxwell had 2 points in 6 minutes of play. Hence, looks like the Windy City has a chance at a bright future with rookies that are not just unafraid but also confident in themselves.