Ice Cube Won’t Offer Angel Reese $5M To Play In BIG3

Ice Cube, the rapper turned actor turned BIG3 founder, at one point wanted Caitlin Clark to play for his league so badly that he offered her $5 million. 

That’s right, before Clark joined the WNBA in 2024, Cube offered her a whopping amount that would’ve dwarfed her current salary to play in his league of washed NBA stars. Ultimately, Clark refused and the rest as they say is history. 

But leave it to TMZ to stir up controversy where there isn’t any. The salacious news channel caught up with Ice Cube at the airport and asked whether he’d be making that same offer to Angel Reese. Cube didn’t fall for the bait, knowing that Reese and Clark have been paired together on opposite sides of a race debate inside women’s basketball. Many believe Clark to be a white savior in a sport that was built on the success of Black women. Reese, who has rivaled Clark since college has become the adversary despite both women keeping their beef on the court.  

Cube told TMZ that offering Reese a large contract could “have that same impact” for the league.

“She’s a great player,” he said of Reese. “The thing with Caitlin Clark, it was to unlock millions of dollars for the league because of her stardom. What our sponsors were telling us, they didn’t tell us the same about Angel Reese, so I don’t know if we can make that same offer.

“I don’t think we can make that same offer because it won’t have that same impact to the league,” Cube added. “All business — it ain’t nothing personal.”

Had Clark taken the lucrative contract she would’ve only needed to play eight regular season games and possibly the playoffs. Clark’s decision to go to the WNBA has worked out well for her (sure, her salary sucks because WNBA players make peanuts compared to their counterparts,) but, according to Sportico, she’s raked in $11 million in endorsements.

Angel Reese doesn’t need BIG3 money, either. She’s made the “WNBA All-Star Game, as the Chicago Sky forward is averaging nearly 14 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. She also launched her own signature shoe with Reebok and debuted the Mebounds pink colorway at the WNBA All-Star game in July. In addition, the 23-year-old LSU alum was tapped to grace the cover of this year’s NBA 2K26 WNBA Edition,” Billboard reports.

Reese even took part in the Unrivaled three-on-three league created by WNBA stars and won that championship, which came with a nice bonus check.