How do Indiana Fever handle WNBA free agency, expansion draft with new CBA?

There is not a lot of actionable items for the Indiana Fever and other teams until the WNBA and players have a collective bargaining agreement.Still, the Fever front office and general manager Amber Cox stressed that they will prepare despite the unknowns.Only three Fever players are under contract for next season, and how they create a roster will partially be determined by what is negotiated in a CBA deal.

INDIANAPOLIS — It’s hard to know what the Indiana Fever will do this offseason. There are a lot of unknowns this offseason in the WNBA.

All but two league veterans are free agents in some way, shape or form. The expansion draft is upcoming with two teams — the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo — slated to join in 2026. Free agency looms, then comes the WNBA draft.

But everything, really, is up in the air until the league and the players’ union agree and ratify a new collective bargaining agreement.

Everything is governed by the CBA. The terms of the expansion draft cannot be set, nor can the expansion draft be held, until the new agreement is in place. Players, who are expecting an exponential and transformational increase in salaries, cannot (and will not) sign until the new agreement is in place. 

And the league and players’ union appear to be headed toward a lockout.

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The CBA expires Oct. 31, a few weeks after the WNBA Finals end. Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray told media during the semifinals that the two sides haven’t agreed on one thing, and Napheesa Collier read an explosive statement during her exit interview that called out commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league that sent shockwaves through the players and WNBA leadership.

The WNBA draft lottery, which is supposed to take place in December, cannot happen without a new CBA. The expansion draft also typically happens in December, while free agency begins in January.

Engelbert, talking in a news conference Oct. 3 before Game 1 of the Finals, said she was confident they could come to an agreement with minimal interruption to the league schedule.

“It’s a balancing act,” Engelbert said. “Again, I feel confident we are going to get a deal done. But obviously we have a ways to go, and we’ll work as hard as we can around the clock. (WNBPA executive director) Terri Jackson and I have talked about working as hard as we can, like we did last time. We did extend it a few months last time to get it done by January. So we’ve been here before. We have a lot of experience in these negotiations, even well before I got here, but now this one. So again, yes, it’s a balance. We want to make sure there’s no interruption, but obviously that’ll be up to the players and our owners. But I think we’re on a path to get, I think, what will be a very good deal and fair deal for all done.”

More: Who will play for the Indiana Fever in 2026? Player-by-player contracts, salaries, WNBA free agents

A lot of things could change in the new agreement, too. The players’ main talking points are salaries and revenue sharing: salaries top off at around $250,000, and revenue sharing is only around 9%. Players want a transformational increase in salaries, as well as a revenue-sharing structure that is more similar to the NBA’s 49% to 51% agreement with its players.

Core years, which are supermax salaries in exchange for exclusive negotiating rights, could go away entirely. Prioritization, which gives the WNBA priority over other leagues stateside and overseas alike, could become stricter or more lenient. The college draft rules could also be simplified, possibly allowing U.S. players to enter the WNBA without needing four years of college.

Anything could change. And right now, front offices are standing mostly in the dark. So, how do they prepare for offseason events they don’t have information on?

“I think we control the controllables,” Fever general manager Amber Cox said. “You start prepping for, obviously, the college season, for what’s going on internationally, planning out our scouting, both domestically and internationally. We are talking to all the players (during exit interviews), obviously focused on development plans for them, finding out what their needs are, how we can support them. So really, just focus on what we can control, and as things roll out, we’ll be ready to go. That’s the biggest thing — plan, as much as you can.”

That planning includes making sure their players have a foundation to lean on.

The Fever only have three players under contract for 2026: Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Makayla Timpson. Some others, like Lexie Hull (restricted free agent) and Sophie Cunningham (unrestricted free agent) have indicated their interest in returning to the Fever, and Kelsey Mitchell (unrestricted free agent) is the Fever’s “No. 1 priority” in free agency, Cox said.

They can only do what they can in this moment, Fever coach Stephanie White said, so that’s the focus.

“You get exhausted if you start thinking about the what ifs and what can happen,” White said.“… Right now, I’m just going to be where my feet are. I’m going to take it one day at a time. We’ll have conversations, certainly, as a staff and organization, but until we know what direction we can go, it’s just being in the moment.”

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar’s YouTube channel for Fever Insiders Live.