The Bayou Barbie Is in Her Bag: All About Angel Reese, Her Net Worth, and Her Future in the League

The Breakdown: Angel Reese has been one of the league’s best since entering the WNBA. After winning a championship in another league, fans are wondering if the star player will make a return in 2025. No fear, she’s preparing and continuing to make her WNBA bag.

After the 2025 WNBA Draft, it’s official. Angel Reese and Hailey Van-Lith will reunite in Chicago. The beloved duo from LSU is making its way to the pro league fresh off a phenomenal season from the former TCU player. After selecting Van Lith with the 11th pick, the Chicago Sky has put some more superstar power around Angel.

Angel Reese is one of the sports world’s most talked-about female athletes. Her NCAA championship run in 2023 put her on the map. However, she was being mentioned on every major sports network before even reaching the tournament.

The “Bayou Barbie” shut down Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes that year, brewing a rivalry that’s crossed over into the WNBA. Caitlin was drafted first overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft, while Angel fell to number seven. The two stars’ presence in the league alone has caused its value to skyrocket.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Angel Reese’s net worth is estimated at $1.5 million. While playing at LSU, she raked in tons of money from endorsements and other NIL deals. The money’s only continued to flow since coming into the league, but Angel denies having as much as her net worth states.

After being drafted by the Chicago Sky, she penned a four-year contract worth $324.3 thousand. Her current salary pays out around $73 thousand a year. She still has plenty of endorsements and additional irons in the fire, though. During her time as a Lady Tiger in Baton Rouge, Angel had one of the highest-paid NIL deals at around $1.8 million.

NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals have only recently become an option for college athletes. Football players like Travis Hunter were raking in dough from being featured in the 2025 NCAA Football video game and female athletes were being found in advertisements everywhere.

Angel has been featured in ads for Amazon, PlayStation, Starry, and McDonald’s. She has endorsement deals with all of these companies, but her biggest comes from Reebok. After Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson became part of the executive board, multiple doors opened for the young star. Not only did she receive her shoe deal while still in college, but she got to design her signature shoe as well.

This was an unprecedented feat for the shoe company, and marks their first-ever major NIL deal. It’s no surprise that Angel was approached with the opportunity either. She led the LSU Lady Tigers to their first national championship in school history and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Angel returned to the NCAA Final Four in 2024, but Caitlin Clark and Iowa got their revenge on the reigning champs. After the end of the season, both were chosen in the first round of the WNBA draft. The two also battled for the Rookie of the Year award all season, both featuring in the WNBA All-Star game as the only rookies on the court.

Although she had to end her season early and lost the ROTY award to Caitlin, Angel was able to break multiple records in her first season. Not only was Angel Reese a force to be reckoned with, but she didn’t even get to finish on her terms.

After being riddled with injury near the end of the season, the Bayou Barbie has shown fans that she still has it in the new Unrivaled league.

Like her first season, she became one of the premier players in the league. She led her team, Rose BC, to the league’s inaugural championship game, and now there’s speculation that she may not return to the big stage.

Angel has not stated any intention to leave the WNBA. She’s been in preparation for her sophomore season after playing in the Unrivaled league. While her season was cut short a second time, she won the league’s first-ever Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Sky star has spent time with celebrities on her podcast Unapologetically Angel in the meantime, but she’s also been getting ready. Playing in the Unrivaled league does not influence players being on WNBA rosters. So not only is Angel coming back into the NBA’s sister league with a point to prove, but she’s doing so with some metal.