The Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, and Connecticut Sun each announced the teams have signed a player each to a hardship contract for the 2025 season. The Fever added Aari McDonald, who was waived by the Sparks ahead of the season, and the Sun scooped up Jaelyn Brown, who was waived by the Fever. The Mercury, who are currently missing Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas, and Natasha Mack due to injury, signed former Stanford star Haley Jones to a hardship contract.
McDonald was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft and most recently averaged 8.7 points per game and 3.7 assists in 26 games for the Sparks in 2024. Brown was signed to the Sun with a rest-of-season contract, and averaged 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds over 14 games played for the Wings in 2024. Jones was drafted by the Dream as the No. 6 overall pick in 2023, and was waived by the team before the 2025 season began.
The Indiana Fever has been hit with a lot of injuries
The Fever has been plagued with injuries of late — on May 26, the team announced Caitlin Clark will be out for at least two weeks with a left quad injury, and both Sydney Colson and Sophie Cunningham were injured during the team's narrow loss to the Connecticut Sun on Friday, May 30.
While speaking to reporters on Sunday, Coach Stephanie White offered positive news about Colson and Cunningham, but didn't specify when they might return to the floor. "We got good news from both of their MRIs. As good of news as you can get," she said. "Right now, it’s a day-to-day thing. We’re looking forward to hopefully them returning at some point sooner rather than later. But at the same time, it’s how each of them progresses in their rehab and in their return to the court action."
The Connecticut Sun need to improve rapidly
The Sun saw the departure of the team's head coach and entire starting roster this year, and currently sits at the bottom of the league with a 1-6 record. Marina Mabrey, Tina Charles, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa have contributed solid numbers for the team so far, but Brown (who was waived by the Fever ahead of the start of the 2025 season) will inject much-needed energy into the struggling squad.
The Phoenix Mercury are also dealing with injuries
Copper will be out for several weeks after undergoing arthroscopy on her left knee, and Mack and Thomas have both suffered a neck and left calf injury, respectively.
WNBA hardship and end-of-season contracts explained
The WNBA is no stranger to hardship contracts, which give teams a little flexibility when cap space is tight, injuries are high, and rosters are still relatively small. Teams can exercise a hardship contract if they have at least two players who are unable to play for an extended period of time (in this case, the Fever has three). The player who signs a hardship contract gets 75% of the minimum base salary, and perhaps most importantly, another shot at proving their abilities on the court. The contracts are temporary and offer no guarantee that a player will have a permanent spot on a team.
Brown will join the Sun for the rest of the season. The signing is a strong one for the Sun, especially since the team desperately needs a player who can create shots. Brown hasn't had the fairest experience in the league so far, and this gives her a real shot at proving she belongs.