quote:
I still think College WBB makes the stars more money than a 'pro' career. WNBA gets no eyeballs, thus gets no endorsement money. Right now, College ball is in a golden era of popularity, thus the NIL money for the stars eclipses anything they could make going 'pro'.

While this is true, I think she's reached a level of celebrity where she can make money simply by being an influencer. Have you seen the celebrities that follow her on Twitter. In the world we live In, she's transcended basketball. While I agree that college basketball gets much more eyeballs than the WNBA, it wouldn't surprise me if she never plays basketball again after she leaves and that could be after this year despite her having another season of eligibility.

I'm not saying she doesn't love basketball and doesn't want to continue her career in the WNBA--she may have a 10-year career there, I just think she's at the point where she can live the life of a social media influencer whether she's playing or not. She got famous playing basketball, but she can continue being another person who's famous just for being famous.

And even though she might be projected to be the #6 pick in the WNBA draft, don't very few draft picks even wind up making rosters at all? I don't know where the cutoff is, but I seem to remember one recent year where like only 2 or 3 picks made a roster. I could mis-remembering and it could be more, and Angel may be more likely then others because of her celebrity being good for whatever team drafts her. But she's likely to be able to earn more money as an influencer traveling the world and posting bikini pics on tropical islands than she is playing a random Tuesday night night in Detroit in front of 1,000 people in the stands with about the same number watching on tv. It's a brand new world we live in whether we like it or not, and she's already set up to take advantage of it, with or without basketball.