Angel Reese, the 2025 Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year and prominent forward for the Chicago Sky, recently led her team to victory in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball league, which secured her a $50,000 bonus.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Her win reignited discussions about salary disparities in the WNBA and women’s sports as a whole.

Reese has been vocal about these disparities, especially after winning the $50,000 bonus, which is more than half of what she made playing the whole year in the WNBA.

She even mentioned on social media that she needed the money due to the low-paying WNBA, which some took as a joke, but was it?

While Reese does have several endorsement deals that likely pay well, including a multiyear deal with Reebok, the average salary for a WNBA player is about $150,000 per season, with some making as little as $56,000, while the NBA’s average salary is about $10 million.

Many NBA players also have lucrative endorsement deals in addition to higher wages.

A major factor in this disparity is revenue. The WNBA generates approximately $60 million in annual revenue, whereas the NBA’s annual revenues are $7.92 billion.

This allows the NBA to spend a lot more on its players. The WNBA also reportedly operates at a $10 million annual loss, which the NBA subsidizes.

Alternative leagues like Unrivaled provide additional earnings for some of the players, with the average salary in that league being $242,000, but it isn’t a full-time league.

Addressing the disparities will likely remain a critical issue in the WNBA as it rises in popularity and produces more stars.