Sophie Cunningham had a fierce response to a fan’s Indiana Fever re-sign plea as the players and the WNBA continue to go back and forth in negotiations regarding player contracts
16:53 ET, 14 Nov 2025Updated 16:53 ET, 14 Nov 2025
Sophie Cunningham (C) had a specific response to a fan who called for her to re-sign with the Indiana Fever(Image: Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Sophie Cunningham had a simple message for the fan who requested she re-sign with the Indiana Fever next season.
Before the 2025 WNBA season, Cunningham was traded to the Fever in a massive trade, and though she was tabbed to be an integral part of Indiana’s core, the 29-year-old missed 14 games with an injury. With Cunningham being an unrestricted free agent, however, it remains to be seen where she will land.
As such, when a fan asked her to re-sign with Indiana, she had a fierce message to them. The moment came as Cunningham joined teammates Lexie Hull and Caitlin Clark at The Annika.
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When the fan called out to Cunningham and Hull to return to the Fever, the former plainly said: “Tell them to pay us.” The “them” in question refers to the WNBA and ongoing CBA negotiations between the league and its players to allot proper contracts.
Heading into the 2025 season, it was all but certain that the players would opt out of the current CBA to negotiate an improved version after the WNBA signed an 11-year media deal worth roughly $200 million per year. The deal was signed in July 2024, and since then, the players have been seeking better wages.
Of note, the previous CBA allowed players to opt out after the 2025 season, which is what happened, leading to the current stalemate. What’s more, players around the league signed contracts that expired at the conclusion of the year, allowing them be unrestricted free agents and sign deals when the new CBA – and increased salaries – kick in.
Sophie Cunningham played one season with the Indiana Fever before becoming an unrestricted free agent(Image: Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Cunningham happens to be one of those free agents, along with Kelsey Mitchell, Natasha Howard, Damiris Dantas, Sydney Colson, Brianna Turner, Aari McDonald, and Odyssey Sims.
Of the 144 players in the WNBA, only 40 of them are either restricted free agents or reserved players, according to SB Nation. Restricted free agents, like Hull, are players with four years of experience whose contracts are up, and if teams do not extend a qualifying offer, they will be unrestricted free agents.
Reserved players are those with three years of service and can’t negotiate with other teams unless their original franchise does not extend a qualifying offer. If a qualifying offer is extended, their original team can match any offer.
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With the two sides continuing to negotiate, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver gave his two cents on the matter.
“I think share isn’t the right way to look at it, because there’s so much more revenue in the NBA,” Silver said on the Today show. “I think you should look at the absolute numbers in terms of what they’re making, and they are going to get a big increase in this cycle of collective bargaining, and they deserve it.”
In response, the WNBA’s player association posted the clip on social media with the caption: “Don’t want to share, @adamsilvernba?”
It must be noted that the players in the WNBA only earn about 9.3 percent of the league’s income, while the NBA shares roughly half of the basketball-related income.