Indiana Fever, Aliyah Boston strike $6.3 million extension; highest total value in WNBA history

Atlanta DreamChicago SkyConnecticut SunDallas WingsGolden State ValkyriesIndiana FeverLas Vegas AcesLos Angeles SparksMinnesota LynxNew York LibertyPhoenix MercuryPortland FireSeattle StormToronto TempoWashington MysticsScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsWNBA Offseason Aliyah Boston #7 of the Indiana Fever shoots the ball during the game against the Las Vegas Aces in Game Three of the semifinals of the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Andy Lyons/Getty Images Share articleThe Indiana Fever and star center Aliyah Boston agreed to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced Friday. Boston inked a four-year, $6.3 million deal, league sources confirmed to The Athletic. She will make $1 million this season, replacing her previous 2026 salary of $574,612, thanks to a provision in the new collective bargaining agreement that the WNBA and WNBPA agreed to last month. Boston will then make 20 percent of Indiana’s salary cap from 2027 to 2029. Boston’s extension is the richest deal in WNBA history based on total money. She becomes the Fever’s second $1 million player, joining guard Kelsey Mitchell, who agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million supermax contract last week. Boston, Mitchell and Caitlin Clark are the core of the Fever, and together they’ve transformed the team from a perennial bottom-dweller into a championship contender. Last year, despite Clark, the 2024 No. 1 pick, being limited to 13 games by various injuries, the team had another No. 1 pick to rely on: Boston. Selected first in 2023, Boston has been named an All-Star in each of her three seasons, and she took her game to another level in 2025. The 6-foot-5 center averaged 12.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists during the playoffs, helping the Fever reach the semifinals for the first time since 2015. Indiana ultimately lost in five games to league MVP A’ja Wilson and the eventual WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces. Boston averaged a career-high 15.0 points along with 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the regular season en route to finishing sixth in MVP voting, just behind Mitchell in fifth. Boston was also named to the All-WNBA second team, which made her eligible for the Exceptional Performance in Initial Contract clause in the new CBA. She is the first player to sign this clause in WNBA history. As part of the EPIC clause, any player who is still on her rookie deal and has already made an All-WNBA team can renegotiate to increase her salary in the final year of her contract. What’s more, the player must also add a minimum of three new years to her deal. Boston and Clark, arguably the best young duo in the WNBA, are now under contract through at least 2027. Clark is also eligible for the EPIC clause since she was named to the All-WNBA first team in 2024. The star point guard will likely wait until next year, however, to sign an extension because she’s entering only the third year of her rookie deal and her salary can’t be renegotiated until the fourth year. Clark is still set to receive a massive pay bump from her previous 2026 salary of $85,873 under the old CBA to $528,846 in the new CBA. While Clark is the unquestioned face of the Fever, Boston’s arrival has also been invaluable to their resurgence. She became the first No. 1 pick in franchise history when she was drafted out of South Carolina in 2023. The former Gamecocks star, who won a national championship in 2022, already ranks No. 4 in Fever history with 1,051 rebounds and second in double-doubles with 41. The Fever begin training camp Sunday. They will open their season May 9 at home against the Dallas Wings, who are headlined by 2025 and 2026 No. 1 picks Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, respectively. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms James Boyd is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Indianapolis Colts. He grew up in Romeoville, Ill., and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His first job was as a high school sports reporter at The Times of Northwest Indiana and it changed his life forever. Follow James on Twitter @romeovillekid