You’d expect a record-breaking contract negotiation to come with tension, urgency, maybe even a little chaos. Not for Aliyah Boston. She just signed a historic four-year, $6.3 million contract extension with the Indiana Fever. This deal makes her the highest-paid player in WNBA history by total contract value.

However, despite the significance, it didn’t even feel that way at the moment. In fact, according to her, she simply relaxed, sat back, and waited for the phone call that confirmed the deal. Speaking on the first day of the Fever’s 2026 training camp, Boston answered reporters who asked when negotiations for the new deal actually kicked off, saying: “Pretty much once the CBA was finalized, my agent handled all that, and I just sit back, watch a show, and wait for him to call me.”

This new deal actually came through as a result of the WNBA’s new EPIC (Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract) provision. Under the provision, top performers are able to renegotiate their rookie-scale contracts early if they meet specific criteria. Specifically, a player must achieve certain honors during their first three seasons on a rookie contract. And of course, Aliyah Boston cleared those criteria, earning All-Star selections in each of her first three seasons in the league.

Interestingly, Aliyah Boston has also not missed a single game in her professional career. She appeared in all 124 possible regular-season games since her draft by the Indiana Fever. Now heading into her fourth season with the team, she says she is “super excited and ready to get to work.” 

She is in fact, excited to continue beyond this season. In her own words, “Indie is just such a fun place to be. And I think the basketball that we’re playing here is great basketball. Even beyond basketball, she also finds the people in the Fever franchise amazing and loves playing with them. And so for her, extending her contract for four years was a no-brainer.

Aliyah Boston Shares Excitement Over Reuniting With Ex-Teammates

For Aliyah Boston, Indiana already feels like home, having spent three years with the Indiana Fever. And now, it’s about to feel even more homey, with more familiar faces around her. The Fever brought in Raven Johnson, her former college teammate, as the No. 10 overall pick in the draft. They also signed Tyasha Harris, another one of her former teammates.

Speaking on reuniting with the two, Boston said, “Super excited. It’s like a full circle moment for me. I was Tai’s freshman when she was a junior and Raven was my freshman, as a junior. So, it’s just super exciting.” As she pointed out, she and Tyasha Harris were teammates at the University of South Carolina during the 2019-2020 season. And they both played major roles in leading the Gamecocks to a 32-1 record. Harris won the Dawn Staley Award as the top point guard, while Boston was named Consensus Freshman of the Year. Both players also earned AP All-American honors.

With Raven, it was two seasons together, also at South Carolina. They were key members of the 2022 National Championship team. In fact, when Boston left for the WNBA in 2023, she famously told Johnson, “This is your team now,” challenging her to step into a leadership role.

According to Boston, both players will bring their work ethic to the Fever. As she said, “I think we’ve all seen Raven, the way she’s been performing in her last year, and then Tai, just her experience, …I’m just super excited.” And its not just her, the entire Fever team is super excited as well. And they are pumped to start the season.