The Indiana Fever's main problem, after what has been a tremendous offseason for the franchise, has been the salary cap situation. That problem has been solved.
The Fever announced Tuesday that guard Kristy Wallace will elect to sit out the 2025 season. This means that the Fever will retain the rights to Wallace and her contract will be suspended until 2026. She will not be eligible to return for 2025, regardless of injury to a current Fever player or a potential spot opening up via trade or release.
Wallace was speculated to be traded before the start of 2025 due to the salary cap. The WNBA salary cap is $1,507,100 for the 2025 season, with a requirement that teams spend at least $1,261,440 on player salaries.
Prior to Tuesday, the Fever had $31,250 in available cap space without factoring in Jaelyn Brown's contract (who was signed to a training camp deal).
The Fever are taking a pretty big hit after the team and forward Katie Lou Samuelson agreed to part ways. The team is still responsible for paying Samuelson's $106,419 in 2025, meaning that if they wanted to pick up Brown's $66,079 contract after training camp the Fever would need to free up about $35,000.
With Wallace sitting out of the 2025 season, her annual $80,823 salary will not be paid and will not affect the salary cap. This frees up $45,994 of cap space-- enough space to sign Brown to a one-year deal, should the club choose to do so.
It should also be noted that the Fever will be unable to sign any of the rookies they would select in the 2025 WNBA Draft. The league minimum for players with less than three years of experience is $64,154. The Fever would be unable to retain any without trading a contract for future draft picks.
While that is a problem for another day, the more pressing issue has been addressed. The Indiana Fever have the money in order.