Angel Reese FURIOUS as Sophie Cunningham’s Merchandise Sells Out Overnight — While Her Own Collects Dust
In the fast-moving, hype-driven world of the WNBA, attention can be as valuable as points on the scoreboard. And this week, it wasn’t a buzzer-beater or a record-breaking performance that dominated the conversation — it was a T-shirt.
Not just any T-shirt, but an Arby’s shirt, worn casually by Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham, that somehow managed to detonate across social media like it was the latest drop from a luxury streetwear brand.
By midday Tuesday, every last one of those novelty tees — hastily printed by a third-party merch partner after a single courtside photo of Cunningham went viral — had been snapped up by fans. Pre-orders were flooding in. TikTok edits blasted out in a frenzy of memes, WNBA Instagram accounts reposted the image, and Cunningham herself seemed almost bemused by the attention.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Angel Reese — a star in her own right, an NCAA champion turned professional force for the Chicago Sky — watched from the sidelines of the viral moment. Her own officially licensed jersey? Still neatly stacked in the team store, waiting for buyers who apparently preferred roast beef jokes over one of the league’s most recognizable young stars.
Sources close to Reese say she’s “frustrated, and rightfully so.” In her rookie season, Reese has fought to carve out her place not just on the court, but in the fiercely competitive landscape of sports branding. She’s no stranger to headlines — her collegiate run at LSU was a masterclass in media magnetism — but this time, she’s on the wrong side of the viral equation.
“She works her tail off,” said one league insider. “She’s been marketable since day one, and yet, a player in an Arby’s shirt comes along and eats her lunch — no pun intended.”
Sophie’s Accidental Takeover
Cunningham’s rise in the week’s news cycle wasn’t calculated — at least, not in the way most sports marketing coups are. The story began with a light-hearted post-game moment: Cunningham, coming off a solid performance for the Fever, walked into the tunnel wearing the oversized fast-food logo tee. Cameras caught it, fans clipped it, and the image took on a life of its own.
Within hours, Arby’s itself had retweeted the photo with the caption: “We have the meats — and apparently, the merch.”
That endorsement was all it took. The Fever’s social media department leaned into the gag, sharing memes and pairing the image with clips of Cunningham hitting corner threes. The rest of the WNBA online fandom did the rest.
From there, it became a perfect storm: a quirky visual, a relatable brand tie-in, and a charismatic player who looked like she wasn’t trying to sell anything at all — which, paradoxically, made everyone want to buy it.
Angel’s Silent Seethe
Reese, for her part, hasn’t commented publicly. But fans noticed she “liked” a handful of posts questioning why her merch wasn’t getting the same attention. On one Chicago Sky fan forum, a heated thread debated whether the league’s marketing machine had failed her.
“Angel’s a star. She’s the reason my niece watches the Sky,” wrote one user. “But the WNBA is still picking and choosing who they push. This Sophie thing is fun, but why isn’t the same energy going toward the rookies who are actually bringing in ratings?”
It’s not the first time Reese’s marketability has been under the microscope. Her transition from college to pro came with massive NIL deals and high expectations for her personal brand. And while her game has had flashes of brilliance this season, viral moments have been harder to come by.
The Bigger Picture
This mini-controversy says as much about modern sports culture as it does about either player. In 2025, the line between athletic achievement and pop-culture relevance is blurry at best. A player can drop 30 points in a game and still be overshadowed by another player’s courtside outfit — or, apparently, a fast-food T-shirt.
“It’s the meme economy,” explained sports marketing analyst Dana Grant. “Sophie Cunningham became a meme for 48 hours, and in this business, that’s gold. Angel Reese has been a meme before — she knows the power of it. But this time, she’s watching it happen to someone else, and that’s a bitter pill.”
Grant added that while the viral spotlight can be fleeting, it often leaves a lasting mark on a player’s off-court brand. “Those Arby’s shirts will be a trivia answer in a few years, but for now, they’re a symbol of how one image can dominate the conversation. Reese will have her moment again, but it’s a reminder that no one owns the internet.”
What’s Next
The Chicago Sky have an upcoming home stand, and league sources say the team’s marketing department is “brainstorming ways to recenter attention” on Reese. Whether that means a flashy photoshoot, a new merch line, or an unplanned viral stunt remains to be seen.
Cunningham, on the other hand, seems content to ride the wave. “It’s just a shirt,” she told reporters after practice, laughing. “If people like it, cool. If it sells out, even better. But I’m still here to play basketball.”
For Reese, that might be the hardest part to swallow — that Cunningham didn’t chase this moment. It came to her, and she owned it without trying.
In the high-stakes, low-predictability world of sports publicity, sometimes the game isn’t won on the court. Sometimes, it’s won in the tunnel, in a $20 T-shirt, with the right photographer in the right moment.
And for now, Sophie Cunningham’s Arby’s moment is the one eating up the headlines — and the sales — while Angel Reese waits for her next shot at the viral crown.
