St. Thomas-born Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston has agreed to a four-year, $6.3 million contract extension that gives her the richest total salary in WNBA history to date and locks in one of the league’s top young players under the new economics of women’s professional basketball.
The deal, first reported by ESPN through Boston’s agent, Zack Miller of WME Basketball, and later confirmed by team officials as a multiyear agreement, will pay Boston $1 million in 2026 and 20 percent of the Fever’s salary cap from 2027 through 2029.
The contract is also significant because it is the first reported use of the WNBA’s new Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract provision, or EPIC, which was created under the league’s recently ratified collective bargaining agreement. Under that provision, teams can renegotiate the final year of a qualifying player’s rookie deal as part of a multiyear extension. Qualifying players must have been named to an All-WNBA first or second team, or won league MVP, during their first three seasons. The broader labor deal announced in March also set the 2026 salary cap at $7 million, up from $1.5 million in 2025.
Boston qualified for the pay bump after earning All-WNBA Second Team honors in 2025. She chose to take less than the $1.19 million she was eligible to earn in 2026 in order to preserve roster-building flexibility for Indiana.
“I’m super blessed and grateful for this opportunity and to continue my journey here with the Fever. God is good!” Boston said. “I’m excited for the future ahead for both myself and for our team, and I can’t wait to keep building upon everything we have accomplished so far. Go Fever!”
Fever general manager Amber Cox described Boston as a foundational piece of the franchise since Indiana selected her with the No. 1 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft. “Entering just her fourth season, Aliyah is already one of the best players in the WNBA,” Cox said, according to Reuters and ESPN. “We’re thrilled to be able to reward her with this new contract and make history, and most importantly, lock her in as a cornerstone of the Fever for years to come.”
Boston, who was born in St. Thomas, has been an All-Star in each of her first three WNBA seasons and was the unanimous Rookie of the Year in 2023. She averaged 15.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 2025, while her career averages through three seasons stand at 14.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. She also earned All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2025 and tied for sixth in MVP voting.
The extension comes after a strong year for Indiana, which reached the WNBA semifinals in 2025 before losing to Las Vegas. Reuters also noted that the deal follows another major move by the Fever, who recently re-signed guard Kelsey Mitchell to a one-year, $1.4 million supermax contract.
For Boston, the agreement marks both a personal milestone and a landmark financial step in the WNBA’s new salary era. For the Fever, it secures a franchise cornerstone whose rise has remained central to the team’s build around a young core.
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