Imago
Caitlin Clark Kelsey Mitchell
Imago
Caitlin Clark Kelsey Mitchell
The Indiana Fever quietly extended a core offer to star shooting guard Kelsey Mitchell on Monday night in a move that speaks loudly around the WNBA.
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The Fever are running it back with their Big Three.
The core extension is a one-year supermax deal for $1.4 million, while providing Indiana with exclusive negotiating rights for the free agent who inked a similar core deal last offseason with the franchise.
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Under the WNBA rules, a team can only core a player twice. Translation: the clock is ticking and the Fever are going all in after dropping the 2025 semifinals to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.
Although Mitchell could still technically sign elsewhere, Indiana retains the right to match the deal. That means the three-time WNBA All-Star likely remains an anchor in the potent lineup of Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston…all three worthy of a supermax.
The WNBA’s CBA giveth. It’s also taketh away.
THE NEW CBA
Players are getting a nice pay bump under the new CBA. This year’s salary cap jumped from $1.5 million last year to $7 million in 2026, while supermax contracts rose from $249K to $1.4 million.
Another new provision in the CBA dubbed EPIC allows players to fast track to a max or supermax deal should they earn All-WNBA honors while still on their rookie contract.
Everyone, including Indiana, got richer. The championship window is open for the Fever. But for how long?
THE BIG THREE
With the newfound influx of cap space under the new CBA, affording their Big Three of Mitchell, Clark and Boston has become a reality for Indiana, if only a temporary one.
Mitchell is banking her $1.4 million thanks in part to her 20.2 PPG and First Team All-WNBA selection. It’s a win-now, one-year deal; as the Fever monitor how Clark will rebound from an injury-plagued 2025 campaign.
Boston is arguably Indiana’s most undervalued player. The power forward is entering her fourth year option at $574K and is now eligible for a $1.22 million EPIC contract. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick and three-time All-Star, Boston became the first rookie to lead the WNBA in field goal percentage (57.8 percent) en route to winning Rookie of the Year honors.
And, of course, Clark, who currently earns $530K on her rookie deal. Max and supermax contracts are awaiting her in 2027 and 2028, respectively. That number leaps to $1.7 million should she win league MVP.
Pulling back from the accounting ledger, however, reveals the larger issue. All totaled, that’s $4.3 million of the Fever’s $7 million cap space.
THREE BIG DECISIONS
The negotiation window opens April 8, followed by the opening of the signing period on April 11.
Several options are available to the Fever.
By signing Mitchell to the supermax now, Indiana gives itself cap flexibility before Clark becomes max and supermax eligible. This almost assures that eight-year veteran will walk as a free agent in 2027 with no core options remaining. Under the new CBA ruling, players with seven-plus years in the league cannot be cored.
The most likely option is the two sides agree to a multiyear deal worth below the supermax. Mitchell receives security at the cost of some peak earning potential. Indiana gets continuity in place of some financial flexibility.
Indiana could simply let Mitchell walk after the season and clear out the cap space. That appears to not be an option.
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“Our first priority is to sign Kelsey Mitchell back. She was first-team All-WNBA last year. Kind of my running mate in the backcourt. She makes it really easy for me,” Clark told NBC’s Basketball Night in America in late March.
The 2026 season doesn’t tip-off for another month, but the Fever have some major decisions to make in the coming weeks that are going to affect their fiscal tone for the foreseeable future.
CASHING IN
No matter which direction Indiana heads in when it comes to signing Mitchell, the same issues of building a roster on marginal cap space loom large.
Opening the checkbook for the Big Three leaves the Fever with $3.26 million remaining to fill nine roster spots next year. That works out to be roughly $362K per player. Which makes things tight when you consider the league minimum is $270K and average salaries land in the $580K range. Among Monday’s other moves, Indiana also gave Lexie Hull a restrictive qualifying offer.
Indiana has very little (or any) wiggle room for a fourth star or, worse, even a top-flight quality starter.
This puts the onus on landing the right free agents and locking up current players as efficiently as possible, as well as capitalizing on the team’s Nos. 10, 25, and 40 overall picks during the April 13 WNBA Draft.
There’s no doubting the generational rotation that Indiana has built between Mitchell, Clark and Boston. How the Fever craft the roster around them could mean the difference between a title and another semifinals loss to the once-again heavily-favored Aces.
THE LANDING
Having the most talented core in the WNBA also comes with having one of the most complicated cap sheets.
It’s Clark math. The superstar is quickly approaching supermax status. The rush is on to maximize that window now.
The new CBA finally ensures players are paid what they deserve. It’s also potentially the reason why keeping teams such as the Fever together could prove difficult.
