Kelsey Mitchell is supposed to be the first retention for the Indiana Fever this offseason. “I’m going to sound like a broken record from last year. The priority will be Kelsey Mitchell and making sure she remains in a Fever jersey,” said Indiana Fever GM Amber Cox. Yet, the financial reality is different. The WNBPA and the WNBA have flipped the game with their new CBA. Now Caitlin Clark’s future with the team is colliding with Kelsey Mitchell. 

“Here’s the dilemma that the Indiana Fever has,” Rachel DeMita said on the Courtside Club podcast. “The dilemma that they have is right now on their roster, they have three players who are max contract players: Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell.”

The WNBA and the WNBPA negotiated a ‘transformational’ CBA which gave players a meaningful revenue share for the first time. In this new era, the salary cap will be $7 million to start with, more than four times the 2025 salary cap of $1.5 million. The minimum salary will be around $300,000, and the average salary will be around $600,000 once revenue is factored in, with the super-max salary being $1.4 million. 

However, it also has a special provision called EPIC for players on rookie deals that is screwing Indiana Fever’s math. According to ESPN, it allows players to renegotiate what would have been the fourth year of their rookie deal and agree to a three-year contract extension.

They can earn the max in that fourth year if they were previously named to the All-WNBA first team or second team or the supermax if they previously won MVP. Which is true for both Clark and Boston. Boston is immediately eligible for that provision and would very likely get a max contract this season. And Caitlin Clark’s 2027 max deal is already reshaping the Fever’s future.

Three players on max contract will take $3.6 million of the $7 million cap, which is more than half. It leaves $3.4 million to consolidate 9 players, which brings the math to around 370k per player. It’s impossible to build a competitive team with this. So, in 2027, keeping these three together is out of the question. According to DeMita, Mitchell will be exploring options immediately. 

“For the good of Kelsey Mitchell, does it make sense for her to sign one year of a supermax contract when maybe an expansion team would be able to offer her three years of a supermax contract or four years of a supermax contract?” She said, “She could go to a different franchise and be that player that some franchise wants to lock in for the next three or four years, but I don’t think monetarily it’s going to work with Kelsey, Aliyah, and Caitlin.”

Mitchell is 30 years old and in the prime of her career. This is the time to cash in, just after she almost single-handedly led an injury-hit Indiana Fever side to Game 5 of the Semifinals against the eventual champions. She had a career high in 2025, averaging 20.2 points and 3.4 assists per game. 

If she decides to stay for another year at the Fever on a supermax deal, it is possible her role will be reduced. Caitlin Clark is coming back from her injury and she will be taking games by the scruff of the neck. There is a world where Mitchell is not worth the same next year at 31 years old as she is this year.  So, she might prefer getting a long-term supermax contract.

Or, on the flip side, the management could find a way to get Mitchell a year’s supermax and then take a paycut next season. Because it’s almost a given that Caitlin Clark is getting that max contract. Just because of the relationship the management and coach Stephanie White have formed with her over the years. 

“She really believed in me. I felt it. I could sense it,” Mitchell has said. “That was the first time I got dealt a hand with a coach … that believed in my abilities, and it made me feel like I had superpowers. That’s what you really need.” So, it is eventually the shooting guard’s call. Even if she does leave the franchise for a better contract elsewhere, no one will blame her. She showed loyalty in the toughest times with the Indiana Fever and deserves to get her due. But, the Indiana Fever would very likely put together a team that will compete for the title. 

Even Without Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark Will Get A Capable Support Group

The 2025 Indiana Fever side captured the hearts of the neutral and the core Fever fandom. Through all the hardships and the injuries, they stayed together and almost went to the Finals. Every player who came in on a hardship contract gave their all. Players like Odyssey Sims and Shey Peddy formed a key part of their team. the fans fell in love with the tres leches featuring Caitlin Clark Sophie Cunningham and Lexi Hull. Unfortunately, this team will very likely  going to change. 

“I do want to prepare you guys. If you are fans of the Indiana Fever, I can almost guarantee this team is not going to look the same,” De Mita said. “It’s not going to look the same because of how this new CBA is set up. But that doesn’t mean that the Indiana Fever is still not going to be able to be a winning franchise.”

There are more than 100 players in the upcoming agency. Any of them would love to play alongside Caitlin Clark. Not only because the point guard makes players around her better, but also because of the brand value boost. The Indiana Fever and Clark are the league leaders in terms of popularity. Just look at how Sophie Cunningham has skyrocketed off the court after joining the Fever. Not that it is all credited to Clark or the Fever, but it played an important part. So, that leverage, combined with a strong core Fever already has, makes them an ideal destination for top players.