Joe Rogan goes after WNBA players seeking pay comparable to NBA counterparts in latest podcast

Joe Rogan roasted WNBA players such as Angel Reese for trying to sit out and strike if their demands aren't met in negotiations.

Joe Rogan goes after WNBA players seeking pay comparable to NBA counterparts in latest podcast

Angel Reese, Joe Rogan (Images via Instagram)

The information ecosystem of the online world in 2025 has made it very easy for misinformation to spread. A prime example of this phenomenon came recently, when a relatively harmless Angel Reese quote got twisted all out of proportion.

Speaking to WNBA counterpart Dijonai Carrington on her podcast, Reese discussed the possibility of WNBA players going on strike ahead of the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in the event that their pay demands didn’t get met. However, the internet – especially WNBA Twitter – manipulated her words to imply she was demanding equal pay with NBA players.

Reese’s rallying cry for her WNBA competitors and teammates was taken as a stubborn demand from a non-performing asset.

Handles like NBA Centel did not help the cause by spreading a fake version of the quote. According to the post by Centel, Reese had demanded equal pay. This handle’s version was also popularized by other parody and fake news handles.

It seems that quite a few people believe this version of her quote to be the actual one rather than what she said on her own platform. It seems that Joe Rogan was one of those people who mistook the Centel version to be her real words.

Going back and forth with his latest podcast guest Big Jay Oakerson, Joe Rogan repeated the fake quote from Angel Reese while attempting to explain the pay gap between WNBA and NBA players:

That’s the craziest one. When the WNBA players want as much money as the NBA players…No the NBA actually generates extreme amounts of revenue. Somebody wrote a joke about it that the WNBA wanted what their just pay was and now they owe $400 million.

Joe Rogan commented on the fake quote by Angel Reese

Rogan would then go on to make a sweeping statement regarding the interest displayed by people in the WNBA.

So here’s the thing about the WNBA. If you love the WNBA, that’s great. There’s a certain amount of people that love the WNBA. It’s great that women have an avenue for professional sports. But you only get paid as much as people are willing to go to see you. I’m sorry.

Joe Rogan put forth his opinion on the NBA-WNBA pay gap

How much can WNBA players realistically demand in the next CBA

With the advent of Caitlin Clark and the horde of new fans she has brought in, the WNBA is experiencing its first major and true boom in popularity. Clark has basketball fans all across the world mesmerized by her skill level and her style of play. She is also inspiring millions of young girls to try their hands at basketball.

The Caitlin Clark effect has had far-reaching impacts on the WNBA’s projected revenue and interest. Her advent has granted the WNBA its own version of Michael Jordan, who changed the paradigm for finances around the league and made basketball a globally popular sport with his style of play and individual excellence. Attendance is up in the WNBA as teams averaged 94% ticket sales compared to 77% before it.

Clark herself is estimated to have earned $11 million – with nearly all of it coming through endorsements. She will soon have a signature shoe of her own, like the New York Liberty star guard Sabrina Ionescu. Additionally, players like A’ja Wilson and Angel Reese have also generated a significant amount of endorsement revenue, and could be considered fashion icons in their own sense.

WNBA players receive, on an average, $119,000 annually as per 2024 numbers. They could see this number go up by as much as 200%, if not more, if the league’s revised $2.2 billion 11 year contract is any indication. The current TV deal also allows the WNBA to renegotiate the deal at various points in the next few years.