The WNBA and WNBAP might not be on good terms on CBA, but the franchises might always want to start ‘calculating’ their moves in the free agency, considering the max contract, cap space, and players they want to accommodate in the permissible limits. While most franchises have similar questions and challenges, the Indiana Fever’s decision revolves around one player – Aliyah Boston.
The player proved her potential and capacity in three seasons with the franchise. Even in the recent Unrivalled season, she won the Defensive Player of the Year award, leading the side to the finals of the competition. But she is in the middle of two players who could attract max contracts.
Indiana Fever’s Dilemma With Aliyah Boston
The Indiana Fever came close to winning the title, even with Caitlin Clark’s season-ending injury and other players missing the lineup. While fans would love to have a similar roster for the upcoming seasons and challenge for the championship, the new CBA terms are causing serious problems for the franchise, as analyst Rachel DeMita opened up on her recent video.
“This season, both Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston could become max contract salary players in 2026. But here is the catch: only one player, currently, with how the salary structure is, could get that max contract. So this is where it starts to get sticky,” she said on her podcast video.
The Indiana Fever might face a tough decision… pic.twitter.com/AF2nVnNqmA
— Courtside Club (@CourtsideClub_) March 4, 2026
The analyst claimed that if a player is aiming for the max contract salary, but right now, there is only room for one player to get the max contract. She added that next season, Caitlin Clark will be eligible for a max contract, making it even more difficult for the Fever team to hand the max salary to only one player.
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Since Boston is between veteran KM and rookie Clark, she holds the key, given her importance on the roster and on the court, too. Luckily for the Fever fans, the CBA terms are not final yet, and franchises would point out a similar situation, asking for more than one max contract and an increase in the salary cap.
As for AB, she is focusing on her role in the team and looking to make more impact on the floor for the Fever team.
Aliyah Boston Ready To Make Bigger Impact For Indiana Fever
The former South Carolina star is completely invested in the Indiana franchise. She won her rookie of the year accolade in 2023 and even earned her second All-WNBA Defensive team selection with the Fever side. She even opened up about crying at the back of the Fever team bus on losses early in her pro career.
So it’s not surprising that the player is looking to be more impactful for the side, and she is already working on the same. In her interview during the Unrivaled season 2, she said, “I spent the offseason honestly just shooting a lot threes, I know that’s something I want to be able to be ready to do consistently for the Fever, and so that was definitely my mindset and goal going into it.”
Aliyah Boston with the clutch stepback 3 pic.twitter.com/4lP8mbpP30
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) January 31, 2026
This will open space for the Fever team and allow them to be more impactful offensively. Though the team is looking to use her as the defensive anchor and commander in the paint region, having an additional skill would only help the team to utilize a more versatile lineup.
Will this impact her max contract situation? Only time has an answer for this, and maybe the new CBA deal.