WNBA star Angel Reese can't afford her rent on a WNBA salary of $73,000

Angel Reese may be one of the faces of the WNBA, but her time on the court hardly pays the bills. The Chicago Sky's all-star rookie revealed last week that her $73,439 salary isn't nearly enough to make ends meet.

“I just hope you all know that the WNBA doesn’t pay my bills at all,” she said during a recent Instagram live stream, according to ESPN. “I don’t even think this will pay any of my bills.”

Reese said her monthly rent payment is $8,000, meaning the apartment for a year will cost her $96,000 – more than she makes in an entire season. “I live beyond my means,” she joked.

Her salary wasn't even enough to “pay my car bill,” she said with a laugh that she “wouldn’t even be able to eat” and “wouldn’t be able to live on her league earnings.”

This isn't the first time Reese has opened up about their salary or lack thereof. Back in May, she told ESPN that her primary income came from her numerous endorsement deals, describing her WNBA earnings as “a bonus.”

“The ability to play for four to five months and get $75,000 on top of the other endorsement deals I do, I think is a plus for me,” she said at the time.

Reese has partnerships with brands such as Reebok, Beats by Dre and Reese's Chocolates.

She's also spending part of her off-season participating in Unrivaled, a new 3v3 league whose inaugural season will take place in Florida, to make some extra money. In the past, WNBA players traveled to countries like Russia to supplement their salaries.

“Many of us never want to go abroad, but unfortunately some people have to go abroad,” she said in August. “Being able to make six figures in three months (at Unrivaled), getting placed in Miami, just getting better… I think it's amazing.”

At the moment, The highest-paid WNBA player is Las Vegas Aces star Jackie Young, who earned just over $250,000 this season. The NBA's salary leader, meanwhile, is Steph Curry, who earned $51.9 million with the Golden State Warriors last year and will make $55.7 million next season.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert emphasized at the CNBC Changemakers event earlier this year that the league is making progress toward catching up with men's leagues that are “75 to 120 years old.”

“We are looking at our 28th season. I would say if you look at (the other leagues) 28 seasons later, we are further ahead,” she said. “But we recognize that we still have a lot of work to do and what matters most is the ecosystem around us that drives sales.”

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