Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell described the intense scrutiny that accompanies playing alongside Caitlin Clark, while her compensation has risen sharply to reflect the league's growing viewership. Mitchell spoke at a season-ending press conference about receiving negative online messages and the difficulty of being a teammate to the WNBA's biggest star. She stated that people do not fully understand what the players endure and asked the public for grace. While some coverage framed her comments as a criticism of the Fever fanbase, Mitchell did not specifically identify fans as the source of the criticism in her remarks. Her comments appear to address the broader scrutiny that comes with being associated with Clark, rather than targeting a specific group within the fanbase.
The discussion around Mitchell's comments highlights the financial benefits that have accompanied the increased attention on the WNBA. Mitchell's salary increased from under $60,000 in 2020 to $206,000 in the season before Clark arrived, and then to $1.4 million in 2026. According to Spotrac, Mitchell's cash earnings from 2018 through 2025 totaled $1,122,442, meaning her current season salary exceeds what she earned over those previous eight seasons combined. The new collective bargaining agreement significantly raised the maximum contract value from approximately $250,000 to $1.4 million, a change that has directly benefited players like Mitchell.
Mitchell has previously acknowledged the positive impact of Clark's arrival on the league's opportunities. In an interview with SLAM, she credited Clark and Angel Reese with opening doors for resources and financial gains for players throughout the league. She described how their presence helped expand the business side of the sport. This acknowledgment stands in contrast to narratives that suggest players are unwilling to recognize the benefits of their increased profile. The Fever organization has also been praised by Mitchell, who described it as unbelievable in her recent comments.
The financial growth is supported by significant increases in television viewership. ESPN and ABC aired five WNBA regular-season games this year that averaged more than 2 million viewers, all of which featured the Indiana Fever. Other networks, including CBS, NBC, ION and Prime Video, also recorded their largest regular-season WNBA audiences for Fever games. The Thursday matchup against Las Vegas drew an average of 2.25 million viewers on USA Network and CNBC, marking it as the second-most-watched WNBA first-round playoff game in history. The top spot remains held by the 2024 first-round contest between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun, which featured Clark.
Jason Whitlock noted on X that players like Mitchell and Aliyah Boston have every right to explain their experiences playing in Clark's shadow. He argued that their complaints focus on media coverage highlighting only one aspect of the Clark experience rather than dismissing the benefits entirely. The debate continues over how to balance the discussion of online harassment with the substantial financial and professional gains that have resulted from the league's popularity surge.