How many years of wealth do YOU think Angel Reese has created for herself?
Angel Reese, the former LSU National Women’s Basketball Champion, has gone viral recently stating that her WNBA salary does not even pay her Rent!
This comment has kicked up the social chaos and questions around how much Angel is spending and the financial implications of her choices.
Let’s review some of the numbers:
- Angel’s WNBA salary is $73,500 for the 2024 season
- She claims her rent is $8,000 a month or $96,000 a year
Of course, we must point out that Angel was at the forefront of the NIL movement, oddly enough I (Money Vehicle) was on LSU’s campus teaching the athletes when everything changed and worked with the Women’s Basketball team.
But Angel’s primary income is still coming off the court from her NIL through endorsements and not the WNBA, so we really cannot fully understand what her actual income is.There is no debating that Angel Reese is RICH but the question is – How many years of WEALTH has she created?
To dive into this, we will ask 3 questions Money Vehicle derives from our “Golden Rule” of money Do not spend, more than you make and focus on what you keep.
The 3 questions for Angel’s Wealth creation come from Golden Rule:
- How much do you spend a month?
- How much do you make?
- How much goes to future?
Here are my assumptions for this situation to calculate her wealth.
Step 1: how much do you spend?
We know she spends $8k a month or $96,000 a year on rent. Let’s assume $100,000 for her past choices and $100,000 for her present choices, with $50,000 of one-off expenses, totaling $250,000 a year.
Step 2: how much do you make?
With millions of followers comes millions of dollars in endorsements. She has been earning millions or more for the last 3 years and all in I would estimate $5 Million in gross earnings. Always must point out 40% society choice so “only” taking home $3 Million.
Step 3: How much goes to the future?
It is not easy to make a lot of money at a young age and be conscious enough to save for the future. But Angel is not a common athlete, nor a businesswoman and I would imagine her personal finance savvy isn’t either. Again remembering 40% to society and at least $250,000 being spent, let’s assume 20% of that $5M has gone into an investment portfolio where the money is working for her. All in all, I would estimate she has $1Million invested.
A calculation I provide for Professional athletes to try and empower them to see this opportunity in Decades Not Days is the Wealth Check. Why do we say wealth and not rich? In Money Vehicle “Rich” means you have money today and “Wealth” is how many tomorrows you do not have to worry about money. An attempt to see the opportunity of being a Professional athlete lasting decade, not days.
This wealth calculation is taking your future choice and dividing it by your burn rate. It shows how many years of your lifestyle spend you have protected.
In Angel scenario the Wealth Check:
- Future = $1M
- Burn = $250k
- Future / Burn = $1M / $250k = 4 Years
Angel was one of the first collegiate millionaires from NIL, her fame and fortune has transitioned to the WNBA where even though her day job doesn’t pay bills, she is still one of the fortunate few to have a life changing opportunity come from playing a game. However, this is why financial literacy is vital because even though Angel is rich, in this calculation she only has created 4 years of wealth.
The amount of money coming in is never the problem, but no matter the amount there is a way to run through it. ‘When your INcome exceeds your OUTflow, your UPkeep will be your DOWNfall!’
As the current Queen of the Court, Angel is not breaking the Golden Rule today. But being the first also means a lot of unknown around how long the social media celebrity status will last. There are plenty of examples for former Professional athletes wishing they would have captured more of the dream.
When you can afford to live however you want toDAY, can you understand money enough to realize your dream is meant for DECADES!
Now the question remains, how many years of wealth do you think Angel Reese has created?
