Pending another possible extension, the WNBA and the WNBPA have 20 more days to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement before a potential work stoppage comes into play.
The new CBA will be historic, whenever the sides manage to agree on it. Players are seeking -- and will receive -- large salary increases, but the players' union is trying to secure a larger slice of league-generated revenue. To date, the WNBA has been resistant to a revenue-sharing agreement similar to the one that exists in the NBA, which remains a wedge in negotiations between the two sides.
However, the announcement of a time and date for the WNBA Draft Lottery has produced optimism that the sides are progressing toward a new CBA, and the start of a new era in women's basketball. It means that some of the league's major players could make surprising decisions about where they will play their basketball from 2026.
Mitchell could have more control over her Fever future
Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell will be one of the most coveted players on the market when she -- like practically every WNBA player not on a rookie contract -- reaches free agency next spring. The ongoing CBA negotiations will affect her as an All-Star player who is regarded as an elite scorer, but who does not boast the off-court income of players like A'ja Wilson or Fever teammate Caitlin Clark.
An ESPN primer on how the CBA talks will impact players around the league described Mitchell, a three-time All-Star, as someone who "doesn't have the off-court brand and endorsement deals to give her large supplemental income." Even the highest-paid player in the league last season, Mitchell's $249,244 salary does not put the 29-year-old in a position to accept a lower figure if she wanted to build a superteam in Indiana or elsewhere.
Mitchell, who set a new Fever record by averaging 20.2 points per game in 2025, has been "cored" by Indiana, which has prevented her from signing with another team in free agency but has allowed her to rake in the supermax salary. A WNBA franchise can "core" a player for two years; a new CBA could see the core designation used on a player just once.
If the multi-year core designation disappears, Mitchell and players in her star bracket would be ineligible for the tag more than once. It would give a player of Mitchell's caliber a lot of control over where she wants to play her basketball -- which the Fever hope will be in Indiana for many more years to come.
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