Insider reveals everything at stake for Fever’s Caitlin Clark in WNBA CBA talks originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As negotiations continue over a new collective bargaining agreement, the WNBA and the WNBPA are in a race against the clock to come to an understanding before Nov. 30, when the two sides’ mutually-agreed 30-day extension expires — an event that could trigger a work stoppage.
Advertisement
The two sides are still talking, and some optimism exists that an agreement will be reached later this month. After all, the WNBA took the step of confirming that its 2026 Draft Lottery will be held on Nov. 23, one week before the extension of the current CBA ends. Winning the lottery can change everything for a franchise. It’s how the Indiana Fever came to select Caitlin Clark at the top of the 2024 draft.
Clark won Rookie of the Year honors and led the Fever to the playoffs in 2024 before quad, groin and ankle injuries limited her to only 13 games played in 2025. Even without her, Indiana reached the WNBA semifinals — and when the 2026 season starts, a healthy Clark will be among the MVP favorites, as the star point guard for a legitimate championship contender.
Clark one of select few who can “weather” a work stoppage
That said, the 2026 WNBA calendar is still something of a mystery, and it will remain so until a new CBA is ratified and in place. The CBA will affect all of the league’s players — even those like Clark, who rake in significant income away from the court.
Advertisement
ESPN’s Michael Voepel explained that Clark, like Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese and A’ja Wilson, has endorsement deals that garner her millions of dollars independent from a WNBA contract. Clark’s marketability has stood out among her generational peers; dating to her time at the University of Iowa, Clark has inked deals with brands like Gatorade, Nike, State Farm and others.
Granted, Clark would still feel the effects of reduced visibility during a potential work stoppage — something to which WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert allegedly alluded during an earlier phase of negotiations. However, her fame and popularity would likely see her through in the event of cancelled games or other significant changes to the 2026 schedule.
And unlike her Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell, Clark will be in a position to take a lower salary (if she chooses) once she reaches free agency following the 2027 season, due to those off-court earnings. That could allow her to build a superteam in Indiana — or even elsewhere.
