Caitlin Clark Facing Career Decision After Indiana Fever’s Announcement

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Caitlin Clark Facing Career Decision After Indiana Fever’s Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated Apr 28, 2026 6:07 PM ET

Caitlin Clark is getting set for her third season in the WNBA, hoping to take the Indiana Fever back to the playoffs and beyond. And the Fever got off to a good start as the preseason is underway, taking down Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty 109-91 on the road at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Clark saw her first WNBA action against New York after missing most of the 2025 season, dealing with numerous injuries. And despite playing for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament, the former Iowa Hawkeyes star looked a bit rusty against the Liberty, tallying seven points on 2-of-10 shooting, three rebounds and four assists in 17 minutes of action.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks on from the sidelines.Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

Clark has now entered the third year of her four-year rookie contract with the Indiana Fever. In her first two seasons, she earned $76,535 (2024) and $78,066 (2025). However, following the WNBA's new collective bargaining agreement, which dramatically increased player salaries (with the league average rising nearly 400%), her salary has skyrocketed to $528,846 for the 2026 season.

And on Tuesday, the Fever elected to secure Clark for the future, exercising the All-WNBA point guard's fourth-year option for the 2027 WNBA season, where she is set to make $597,596.

"we have exercised Caitlin Clark's fourth year option ," the Fever announced on X.

While Clark will see a major increase in salary over the next two years, she may decide that a new, much larger contract is in order, given her elite skill set and massive popularity. Thanks to the EPIC provision, a rule introduced in the new WNBA CBA, Clark could choose to renegotiate her fourth-year rookie salary and potentially sign a multi-year extension earlier than she otherwise could.

"In an unsurprising, yet necessary move for the Fever, they have exercised Caitlin Clark’s fourth-year option," IndyStar's Chloe Peterson wrote on X. "She is now officially under contract through 2027. Under EPIC, Clark will also be able to renegotiate her fourth-year salary and add an extension."

In an unsurprising, yet necessary move for the Fever, they have exercised Caitlin Clark’s fourth-year option. She is now officially under contract through 2027.

Under EPIC, Clark will also be able to renegotiate her fourth-year salary and add an extension.
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) April 28, 2026