Fever President's 5-Word Message About WNBA Roster Sizes Speaks Volumes

Indiana Fever president Kelly Krauskopf has had to work within the limitations of a WNBA reality.

Indiana Fever President of Basketball and Business Operations Kelly Krauskopf speaks during an introductory press conference for forward DeWanna Bonner on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While there are several frustrating aspects of the WNBA's current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), one that affects entire franchises is the 12-player limit on rosters once the regular season begins.

Not only does this force teams to cut high-level players that otherwise deserve a spot in the world's best women's basketball league, but it can handicap clubs when several players get injured in a short amount of time.

This was the case with the Indiana Fever over the past week, when guards Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, and Sydney Colson all suffered leg injuries, thus limiting Indiana's active roster to having one guard (Kelsey Mitchell) heading into June. Not to mention that the Fever entered the season with 11 players on their roster to remain under the cap limit.

The Fever atoned for this by signing Aari McDonald to an emergency hardship exception contract on Monday, which acts as a way for teams to add players to their roster in the wake of injuries piling up. However, the Fever wouldn't have needed to scramble to add an emergency guard if WNBA teams were allowed to have 15 players on their roster like NBA teams do.

This is the sentiment that Fever President and COO Kelly Krauskopf shared when speaking with the media on June 1.

"More bodies would be good," Krauskopf said with a laugh when asked about the WNBA potentially adding two-way player contracts like the NBA has (which would likely also require a developmental league), per an X post from Chloe Peterson of IndyStar.

Fever President Kelly Krauskopf says they’re looking at options to add another player on a hardship, especially as they only have two healthy guards right now.

Hoping to be able to sign that player ahead of Tuesday’s game. pic.twitter.com/E7geRT4eOJ

— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 1, 2025

Of course, Krauskopf and company are forced to operate within the current reality. "It's something that you just deal with being in this league, with the roster sizes being a little bit smaller, and that's why you try to build for depth," she stated about the current situation facing the team.

The good news is that the league's current CBA ends after this 2025 season, and roster size is surely an issue the WNBA Player's Association (WNBPA) is going to want addressed once the next CBA is finalized.