[jen20]

> I honestly don't get why they have a CLA, anyone know?

There are valid reasons to have a CLA: confirmation that your contributions are not encumbered by an employer contract is a good one. What there is rarely an excuse for is a copyright assignment, which often gets bundled into a CLA.

The only non-nefarious example of copyright assignment that I can think of is the FSF, but only because they have such a strong record on software freedom.