WNBA's Cameron Brink on Building Brand amid Injury: 'I Can Still Be a Businesswoman'

Cameron Brink's season-ending ACL injury isn't stopping the Los Angeles Sparks rookie from growing her profile away from the court.

"Keeping the main thing, the main thing is really important because even though my W contract may not be as much as I'm making off the court, that is how I show up in this space and that's what I love to do," she said at CNBC and Boardroom's Game Plan Summit.

"So I've been rehabbing really hard. I did a shoot with LegalZoom, probably seven days after I got injured… and it just kind of reminded me like this injury is not going to limit me. I can still be a businesswoman."

Brink got overshadowed somewhat coming into the WNBA because she was in the same draft class as Caitlin Clark. The 6'4" forward was on her way to having a big year defensively before tearing her ACL. Through 15 games, she was averaging 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, the latter of which trails only Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson.

The sizable portfolio Brink built while competing at Stanford has followed her to the pros as well. She was among the athletes featured in Puma's "We Got Now" ad campaign that dropped in April.

Even with the financial gains WNBA players made in the last collective bargaining agreement, they're incentivized to build their brands away from basketball and in some cases compete year-round.

In the case of Brink, she gets less than $80,000 in each of the first two years of her rookie contract, and her salary climbs to $85,873 in 2026. Her WNBA contract probably accounts for a fraction of her yearly earnings.