Angel Reese warns WNBA players may strike if pay doesn’t increase.
“We’re ready to stay at the table for as long as needed.”
On her Unapologetically Angel podcast, WNBA star Angel Reese talked with DiJonai Carrington about the upcoming collective bargaining agreement and the possibility of a players’ strike.
“I need to be in those meetings because I’m hearing, ‘If we don’t get what we want, we’re sitting out,'” she said.
“That’s definitely a possibility,” Carrington responded.
The conversation sparked a heated debate on X, with fans reacting strongly to the idea of a WNBA players’ strike for higher salaries. Reese jumped into the discussion to address conservative influencer AKA, who shared a misleading post claiming she was demanding equal pay with NBA players.
“I love how y’all have selective hearing. I said, ‘I’m hearing if they don’t give us what we want, we’re sitting out,’ and that’s the truth,” Reese tweeted.
“I never mentioned the NBA. We’re ready to stay at the table as long as it takes. Here’s the link to my podcast so you can hear the conversation. I’ll keep using my voice to fight for what WE want and deserve as a league.”
I love how selective y’all’s hearing is. I said, “I’m hearing if they don’t give us what we want, we’re sitting out,” and that’s the truth. I never mentioned the NBA. We’re ready to stay at the table for as long as it takes.
Speculation about a player strike comes after months of debate sparked by Reese’s admission that her WNBA salary doesn’t cover her expenses. Reese signed a four-year, $324,383 rookie contract ahead of her 2024 debut, earning under $75,000 in her first year, with a lower salary set for 2025.
“I’m living beyond my means. Hating pays the bills, baby. Just so you know, the WNBA doesn’t pay my bills at all,” she said last October. “I don’t even think it covers one of my bills. Literally, I’m trying to calculate my rent. Let me do the math real quick. I don’t even know my (WNBA) salary, $74,000?”
“Babe, if you thought… That WNBA check doesn’t cover anything,” she added. “Did it even pay my car note? I wouldn’t even be able to buy a sandwich with that. I wouldn’t be able to eat. I wouldn’t even be able to live.”
The WNBA, which has yet to become profitable since its 1997 debut and has depended on NBA subsidies, continues to face financial struggles.
In October, the WNBA players’ union chose to opt out of its current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) two years before it was set to expire. While the existing CBA will remain in effect through the 2025 season, both sides now have a year to negotiate a new deal.
