INDIANAPOLIS — It’s nearly decision time for Kelsey Mitchell.
The Indiana Fever guard just finished a three-year extension on her rookie contract, making her an unrestricted free agent for the first time in her career.
Mitchell is going into free agency at the right time, too — she’s coming off the two best years of her career, named an All-Star both seasons. In 2024, she helped lead the Fever to the playoffs for the first time in her career, finishing the regular season just three total points behind rookie phenom Caitlin Clark.
The former Ohio State star saw the Fever go from a laughingstock in the league when she was drafted in 2018 to a team on the rise and the WNBA’s walking billboard in 2024. With a new front office and a new coach, the Fever could soon become one of the league’s most formidable teams.
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Will these past two years of progress make her want to stay with the organization? The Fever hope so.
“Kelsey Mitchell is our top priority heading into free agency,” Fever GM Amber Cox said in November. “She, in my mind, is a cornerstone of this franchise. She’s been here for seven seasons, and she has, you know, endured a lot, hasn’t won a lot, so I really want her here to enjoy what is to come. She deserves that.”
The Fever can core Mitchell, giving them exclusive negotiating rights in exchange for a one-year supermaximum salary. Indiana is the only team that can offer Mitchell the supermax this season, which is around $249,000 for a one-year deal. Mitchell can also be cored in 2026, potentially giving Indiana two more years before she hits true free agency.
That, along with a promising prospect of handling the backcourt with Clark, gives the Fever hope they can come to a deal with Mitchell. Teams can extend qualifying offers to core-eligible between Jan. 11-20.
“I don’t think that there’s another team that she could go to that would maximize her skill set better,” Fever president Kelly Krauskopf told IndyStar in November. “I mean, she had her best year in a backcourt with Caitlin Clark, and I think they were probably the most dynamic duo.”
The Fever are the closest team to Mitchell’s hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, too — just a 1.5 hour drive. That allowed both Mitchell to go home to see her family on most off days and her family to come see her in Indianapolis, especially after the sudden death of her father in March 2023.
Still, Mitchell wants to look for the best options out there — whether that’s in Indianapolis or somewhere else.
“Obviously, I’ve always had a home in Indy, so it could potentially be a home for me again,” Mitchell said in September. “But I think right now, the switching dynamic of my family and everything, I got to do what’s best for me. That’s no hanging my hat on one team or another, but I think it’s specifically for me. I got to be selfish about that process.”
Mitchell’s camp has indicated they want to test the free agency waters this offseason and talk with other teams, despite the core tag. Mitchell has never been in a place in her career where she has been able to levy offers from multiple teams — she signed her three-year extension before the final year of her rookie contract, negating her becoming a restricted free agent or talking with teams after her rookie deal.
Technically, Mitchell will not be able to talk with other teams unless the Fever give permission, as part of the core designation. Indiana could give her permission to talk with other teams and still retain her rights with the supermax deal, basically allowing Mitchell to test the waters for what is out there when she hits true free agency after her core years are up. If Mitchell really wants to leave for another team, too, she could negotiate a sign-and-trade out of the Fever franchise.
No matter what happens or where Mitchell ends up, she is likely to only sign a one-year deal. The league’s current collective bargaining agreement with the WNBA Players Association expires following the 2025 season, and the WNBPA is heavily pushing for a revamp and increase in player salaries starting in 2026. Because of that, there are very few free agents signing past 2025.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: WNBA free agency: Indiana Fever can core Kelsey Mitchell, will she stay?
