WNBA Free Agency: Fever's $249,244 Guard Addresses Future with Caitlin Clark & Squad Amid FA Buzz

Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell commented anew about her free agency this offseason. The three-time WNBA All-Star's one-year, $294,244 supermax contract expired at the end of the 2025 season, per Spotrac.

On Friday's episode of "Bird's Eye View" podcast, Sue Bird asked Mitchell about the upcoming free agency. The 5-foot-8 guard doubled down on what she said during Indiana's exit interviews earlier this month, that she will consider her family's needs.

"The reality of it just from the standpoint of like, life is different when family dynamic changes." Timestamp: 1:10:30). "That's important for me, I would say and I think that is always has to be first and foremost important for me when I think about free agency."

However, Mitchell also noted her strong ties with the team. The Fever star has spent all eight years of her career with Indiana, the team that drafted her as the No. 2 pick in the 2018 WNBA draft.

"On the flip side of things of knowing what Indiana means to me, it's paramount. It's huge," Timestamp: 1:10:58). "It's a lot of what ifs, but I like to think that in the right realm of work, I cannot not think about Indiana. ... So, it's a combination of both. But I think in both realms of life, I get to choose on where I'm valued."

With the ongoing CBA negotiations, there is an uncertain landscape in the WNBA free agency. However, one thing is sure: if Mitchell re-signs with the Fever, she will once again play with Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark, and the trio could run it back. Boston and Clark are still rookie-scale deals and are under contract through the 2026 season.

Kelsey Mitchell praises Caitlin Clark on the latter's role in the locker room

During the same episode of Sue Bird's "Bird's Eye View" podcast, Kelsey Mitchell praised the impact of her star teammate, Caitlin Clark, despite sitting out most of the season. The 2024 Rookie of the Year played just 13 games this past season due to various injuries.

"The biggest thing that I respected about Caitlin is that she was never bigger than the program," Mitchell said on Friday. "She wasn't trying to take over. ... Within our locker room, she wasn't trying to be bigger than anyone else, and I think the way her style of play, it ended up complementing me, it ended up complementing (Aliyah Boston)." "The one thing I love about Caitlin, too, is that we all love basketball the same way. We all have our different styles and ways of playing it, but the passion for it, with Caitlin, when she didn't play, compared to when she did play, remained the same. And I respected that from her, because it could have easily not been that way."

Without Clark, the Indiana Fever reached the playoffs and barely lost to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals. The Fever has proven that despite being hounded with injuries, they could compete.

If Indiana could retain its young core and keep its stars healthy, it could contend for the championship for the foreseeable future.

Edited by Kim Daniel Rubinos