I want to get established, and I would love to get established in a place like Indiana,” she told reporters at the Fever’s training camp Tuesday morning. “We have such a good time. When you find a group of girls who make you fall in love with basketball again, and you enjoy it, and you enjoy not only on the court but off the court, you want to hold on to that.”Cunningham, 29, is entering her eighth season in the league.

She spent her first six seasons with the Phoenix Mercury after being drafted in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Draft. In the 2025 offseason, as a free agent, she signed with the Fever on a one-year deal — a decision shared by the vast majority of free agents, given the impending collective bargaining agreement negotiations and an expected jump in salaries.On Monday’s episode of Cunningham’s podcast, “Show Me Something,” which she co-hosts with friend and reality TV star West Wilson, she said, “It was close,” when asked if her contract was better than she had thought it would be.She didn’t specify her hopes for contract terms, but she acknowledged it was “tough” because she was coming off an MCL injury that required surgery in mid-August.“I haven’t been in front of any teams,” Cunningham said on the podcast.

“I had a lot going on this offseason. I was fully cleared. They had all the doctors. They had the numbers and everything, but if you don’t get in front of these people, it’s like, ‘Hey, are you actually good?’”Dialed in, re-signed, and ready.@sophaller gets into her contract negotiations with the Fever 🏀 pic.twitter.com/DZsrDAMx05— Show Me Something (@ShowMe_Pod) April 20, 2026“I’m at the point in my career where I just want to win,” Cunningham continued.

“I’m not going to put my ego in front of things. I know it is a business, but I think I’m just wired a little differently. I don’t know — I just want to win.

I think this was a great wake-up call to not get comfortable. It kind of lit a fire under my ass even more.”The podcast clipped together segments around the contract comments and Cunningham’s health and put a 76-second clip on social media, which was subsequently aggregated by several outlets and handles. Many interpreted her comments to be about the amount of money, which she responded to on X on Monday evening.

In the post, she clarified that part of her desire to put down roots was her hope to bring her pet dog and donkey to Indiana.I’m gonna shut this down right now. I’m not mad about the money…. I just wanted more years because I love it here.

I wanted to get a house so I could bring my dog and donkey to Indy with me. That’s it. That’s the truth. I think we have something very special here in Indiana!! https://t.co/xq7HZ2ZDbF— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) April 21, 2026Cunningham said social media commentary was “trying to stir things up, but they made me sound snotty and ungrateful.”Sophie Cunningham clarifies her comments from her podcast last night:“I just wanted to be somewhere for over one year.

I’m 30 years old, I want to have a home, I want to get established.”Also said she had multi-year offers elsewhere but chose to stay with the Fever. pic.twitter.com/HRo0NwhIfH— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) April 21, 2026The Fever are in a unique financial situation. With forward Aliyah Boston and guard Caitlin Clark — two All-WNBA players — entering this season on rookie contracts, Indiana had slightly more money to spend on complementary pieces than if Boston and Clark had been on veteran contracts. However, as part of the new CBA, the Exceptional Performance on Initial Contract provision allowed Boston, who is in the final year of her rookie deal, to renegotiate her fourth-year salary with the Fever.

She re-signed with a three-year extension at a veteran salary, boosting her 2026 salary from $574,612 to $1 million. Clark, as a former All-WNBA selection, will be eligible for the same EPIC provision salary jump next season in her fourth year, so the Fever need to be intentional with contract spend and length as they enter 2027 and beyond in order to keep Clark in Indy.The only players on protected contracts beyond this season are Boston and forward Monique Billings (who signed a $1.6 million, two-year deal with the Fever as a free agent this offseason). Kelsey Mitchell — a three-time WNBA All-Star who was a first-team All-WNBA selection last season and has spent her entire career with the Fever — also signed a one-year deal, though hers was at the player supermax ($1.4 million).This article originally appeared in The Athletic.I