Cameron Brink #22 of the Los Angeles Sparks poses for a portrait during WNBA Media Day at El Camino College on May 1, 2024 in Torrance, California.
While some athletes celebrate their first big paycheck with a splurge — NFL star Travis Kelce dropped $10,000 on a limited-edition pair of sneakers, Shaquille O'Neal spent $150,000 on a Mercedes Benz — WNBA star Cameron Brink hasn't touched hers.
The second-overall pick of the 2024 WNBA Draft — behind only Caitlin Clark — earned $76,535 her rookie season and will be paid $78,066 by the Los Angeles Sparks next year.
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Brinks says she's saved about 90% of her total earnings from her first year in the league, adding that the WNBA isn't the principal driver of her income. The forward says that her career as a professional athlete has made her more marketable and helped her land lucrative endorsement deals.
"I'm really thinking about my financial future," the 22-year-old told CNBC Make It an email. "I want to ensure that I'm setting myself up for a comfortable lifestyle down the line because I definitely don't want to be working forever."
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Brink, who in college signed an endorsement deal with New Balance to become the brand's first female basketball player, had an NIL valuation topping $200,000 while at Stanford University, Sports Illustrated reports.
In a league where player salaries are still as low as they are, such sponsorships can make all the difference. The highest-paid athletes in the WNBA earn close to $250,000 a year, while one brand deal can bring in anywhere from $300,000 to $500,000, Taylor Burner, a former agent for the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), told Vogue Business last year.
By contrast, the NBA's salary leader Steph Curry, earned $51.9 million from the Golden State Warriors last year and will make $55.7 million this upcoming season before factoring in deals with brands like Under Armour and Chase.
Even though Brink's rookie season was cut short after suffering a torn ACL in June, that hasn't stopped the deals from rolling in. This week, alone, she signed a multi-year deal with the makeup brand Urban Decay and announced that she would be featured in the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
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She's also partnered with SoFi to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act which, in 1974, made it illegal for financial institutions to deny loans or other products to customers on the basis of their gender, marital status, race or other identifier.
As she recovers from her injury, Brink is focused on keeping her "spending in check" and "saving as much as possible."
That includes setting funds aside for her upcoming wedding and honeymoon, she adds. Brink got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Ben Felter, in September.
Although interest in the WNBA has skyrocketed as of late, this rising popularity has yet to fully reach players' wallets.
Angel Reese, the Chicago Sky's All-Star rookie, has said that her $73,439 salary isn't anywhere close to enough to help her make ends meet.
"I just hope y'all know the WNBA don't pay my bills at all," the 22-year-old said during a recent Instagram live, according to ESPN. "I don't even think that pays one of my bills."
In May, Reese told ESPN that her primary income came from her numerous endorsement deals, describing her WNBA earnings as "a bonus."
"Being able to play for what, four to five months, and get $75,000 on top of the other endorsements that I'm doing, I think it's a plus for me," she said at the time.
Brink says playing in the WNBA is "the greatest job ever," regardless of her salary.
"I get to do what I love for a living, I get to work out, play basketball every day and receive compensation for it," Brink says. "I just wish people understood how much work goes unseen. It takes an incredible amount of work, physically and mentally, to be in the best shape and position possible going into each season. I wouldn't change it for anything, but it takes a lot of work to get there."
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