Kelsey Mitchell Admits Uncertain Fever Future Is 'Scary' Amid CBA Talks
Every WNBA players is facing an uncertain future right now, although some are in a more precarious place than others.
This is because every WNBA player who isn't still on their rookie contract (such as Indiana Fever stars Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark), except three, are set to become free agents this offseason. Many of these players would have already signed deals by now if it weren't for the ongoing negotiations between the league office and the players' association for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
While negotiations appear to be heading in the right direction, there's still a considerable amount of work to be done if these two sides are to come to terms. Regardless, the league's offseason schedule is way behind, and the chance that the regular season will be delayed or a lockout will occur increases by the day.
RELATED: How WNBA CBA Uncertainty Impacts Indiana Fever
Kelsey Mitchell Acknowledges Scary Reality Of WNBA Free Agency
Longtime Indiana Fever star guard Kelsey Mitchell (who is also set to become a free agent once a CBA is ratified) was the guest of a February 19 episode of WNBA legend Lisa Leslie's "Between the Lines" show with Just Women's Sports.
When Leslie asked how the CBA negotiations looming overhead Unrivaled impacts morale or whether it pushes teams closer, Mitchell said, "I think that it pushed [Hive BC] closer. I can't speak for every team at Unrivaled, but our team, specifically, a lot of us are in free agency on that team.
"And so none of us knows what our future holds, which is scary. I'll be honest with you, it's scary. But on the flip side, it's like, none of us know what our future holds. And so when we have these conversations about what we want to do, and what we do see, where we want to go potentially, it comes from a place of understanding," Mitchell continued.
"And I love that about our group, because we have different personalities. So [Sonia Citron] and myself are not the biggest talkers. But when we have a talk, and we do get vulnerable, oh my god, it's so much fun, Lisa. You know, you really get a chance to hang loose," she concluded.
Kelsey Mitchell opens up on how CBA negotiations have impacted the experience at UNRIVALED.
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) February 19, 2026
Presented by @turbotax pic.twitter.com/UBjwgVNydV
RELATED: WNBA Free Agent’s Cryptic Fever Fan Response Turns Heads
While the hope is that Mitchell will be back playing for the Fever later this year, the harsh reality is that nobody knows whether there will even be a 2026 season at this point.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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