Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark made her long-awaited return from injury on Friday at USA Basketball women’s national team training camp. She said she felt “100 percent” following her first five-on-five action since playing in a WNBA game on July 15. She only played 13 games in the 2025 season, averaging 16.5 points, 5 rebounds and 8.8 assists.
Clark’s health was not the only thing she was asked about during the media session in Durham, North Carolina. It was one of the first basketball-related interviews she has done this offseason, giving reporters the opportunity to ask Clark, one of the faces of the WNBA, what she thinks about the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations between the WNBA and its players.
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Team Clark guard Caitlin Clark, right, and Team Collier guard Kelsey Plum (10) interact at the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game.Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
The existing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was set to expire on Oct. 31, but it has been extended twice, creating a new deadline of Jan. 9 for the WNBA and the Women’s National Basketball Players Association to sign a new deal. Little progress has been made, while both sides have traded public jabs over key issues like maximum salaries, revenue sharing and player welfare.
The lack of a new deal is already holding up offseason activities like player movement and the WNBA expansion draft, increasing the likelihood that the 2026 WNBA season will not start as planned. The potential for a lockout is real, and Clark was not afraid to turn up the heat in what she calls “the biggest moment the WNBA has ever seen.”
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“We’re going to fight for everything that we deserve, but at the same time, we need to play basketball,” Clark said. “At the end of the day, that’s how you make the money, that’s how you’re marketable, that’s what the fans get excited about.”
Few people understand the business of the WNBA better than Clark, whose immense popularity is estimated to be worth as much as $1 billion to the league — contrary to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s behind-the-scenes comments.
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Clark is the highest-paid women’s basketball player in the world, but she understands her $16 million in off-court income will suffer without a place to play. Unlike other players, Clark is not planning to play in outside leagues like Unrivaled or Athletes Unlimited, so her earning potential is tied to the WNBA.
The Fever guard admitted that she “can’t speak to every single number” being debated in negotiations, but she called out both sides for the lack of urgency in avoiding a possible work stoppage.
“There has to be compromise on both sides,” Clark said. “We’re starting to get down to the wire of it.”
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To add more emotion to her public plea for compromise, the 23-year-old evoked the debt the league owes to its fans and its former players who played through far worse conditions to build the WNBA into what it is today.
“This is the biggest moment in the history of the WNBA, and I don’t want that to be forgotten,” Clark said with emphasis. “It’s important that we find a way to play this next season. I think our fans and even everybody that has played in this league that has come before us deserve that as well.”
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Friday could have been a day reserved for celebrating the return of one of the WNBA’s biggest stars after missing half of the 2025 season with an injury. Instead, Clark used her platform to demand more urgency in hopes that she does not miss a full season in 2026.
Related: Caitlin Clark Sends Message to Indiana Fever Teammate Ahead of Return to Basketball
Related: Chicago Sky Star Angel Reese Shares New Look Amid USA Basketball Training Camp
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Dec 12, 2025, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
