This will be the season Angel Reese, her family, and her fans will remember forever, as one piece of good news after another arrives for the Atlanta Dream star. Since joining Atlanta this year, Reese has won the Defensive Player of the Year award, reached the WNBA Finals, and could win Finals MVP. But Saturday brought more news for Reese, and it came with a financial payoff.
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The WNBA announced its All-WNBA teams, and Reese was named to the All-WNBA second team. While the Dream star would have wanted a spot on the first team, the selection has paved the way for a big payday.
With her All-WNBA selection, Reese is now eligible to renegotiate her salary next year under the Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract (EPIC) provision. She can negotiate for a maximum contract for the upcoming season and sign a subsequent three-year Supermax extension with the team.
Under the rookie deal she signed with the Chicago Sky, Reese was set to earn $396,282. Had she earned these selections in her first two years with the Sky, she would have earned a maximum contract of $1.19 million. But according to The Athletic, these numbers are expected to rise 13% in 2027. If Reese wants to renegotiate, there is little reason to think that the Dream would object.
The provision in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) gives players the right to renegotiate their salary in the fourth year and sign a three-year extension with their current team. Players on rookie contracts who have made the All-WNBA first or second team can sign a maximum or supermax extension in the fourth year.
This wasn’t allowed in the previous CBA, in which the fourth year of a rookie contract was an option that the team controlled. Players could sign a supermax contract with their teams only after completing all four years of their rookie deals.
Caitlin Clark, A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Mitchell, Breanna Stewart and Olivia Miles made All-WNBA first team selections. Shakira Austin, Paige Bueckers, Reese’s teammate Rhyne Howard, and Jackie Young made the All-WNBA second team, besides her.
But Reese and the Dream have a bigger task at hand. With the series tied at 2-2 following the Game 4 loss (67-62 ), they are suddenly on the back foot. Reese knows that winning a title would add more to her resume than All-WNBA honors alone.