Look, I didn’t want to rag on Angel Reese and the WNBA today. I really didn’t. Despite what y’all might think, I actually don’t mind Angel, mainly because she’s a driver of #content for this site.
And I like my job, which means I like content. So, I like Angel.
That being said, she can also be silly at times. Can grab a rebound like nobody’s business, but also, at times, super silly.
This is one of those times.
Earlier this week, on her podcast that I believe OutKick’s own Amber Harding listens to every week, Angel issued a fairly funny threat to the WNBA as the league enters new CBA negotiations: Pay us more, or I’m sitting out.
Angel’s gonna need some help on this one
Yeah, I mean, I’m just not sure that’s gonna get the job done. Maybe it will, but, also, maybe it won’t.
Let’s start here … nobody really watches the WNBA. I’m just being honest. I know ratings were up last year, but that wasn’t because of Angel Reese. You know it. I know it. The WNBA knows it. Angel probably knows it.
She’s a good player, and a polarizing one, but she’s not Caitlin Clark. Don’t call me racist. Save your breath, please.
I know some of y’all who stumbled on this blog who usually read CNN will want to shout racism, but don’t. Bite those tongues!
It’s just true. Those are the facts. Caitlin Clark transformed the league, relatively speaking, last year. She brought casual basketball fans over. She brought over the middle-aged white dad from Iowa who still watches 100 MLB games a year. The numbers say that. The data backs it up.
So, I’m not sure Angel Reese threatening to sit out is gonna move the needle when it comes to negotiations. Are YOU going to stop watching the WNBA if Angel Reese sits it out? Come on. Of course not.
Caitlin Clark games were routinely the highest-rated games by a mile last season. A mile. And yes, one of those ratings juggernauts featured a contest against Angel Reese. It’s a great rivalry. Hell, I’m interested in it, and I despise basketball. So, perhaps, Angel can use that as leverage.
But, again, unless Clark issues a similar threat, I just feel like it will all fall on deaf ears. If she says she ain’t playing until they start paying everyone more money, then the WNBA has a problem. Clark somehow brought 1.2 million viewers to some channel called ION last summer for a regular season game.
ION! Do you know what ION is? Where it is? How to find it? Of course not. But, somehow, over 1 million figured it out last August for a Fever-Mercury game.
That’s a bargaining chip. You want to get paid, bring those numbers to the table and threaten to take your ball and go home.
I’m all about athletes getting paid, but let’s not be silly about it.
