Cathy Engelbert will retire as WNBA commissioner on 30 December, concluding a seven-year tenure that saw unprecedented growth and significant controversy. Engelbert, the league's first commissioner, announced her decision in a statement shared by the WNBA, citing her more than 40 years in business and the league's transformation under her leadership.
Record Growth and Expansion
Engelbert's tenure was marked by historic growth in television audiences, attendance, sponsorship revenue, and merchandise sales. The league expanded from 12 teams to 18, with the Golden State Valkyries joining in 2025, the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo added this year, and teams from Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia expected by 2030.
Early in her tenure, Engelbert navigated the Covid-19 pandemic by creating the "Wubble" at IMG Academy in Florida, allowing a shortened 22-game season in 2020. The regular-season schedule has since expanded to 44 games and will grow to 50 in 2027.
Landmark Media Deal and CBA
Two achievements define Engelbert's legacy: the league's $3.1bn media rights deal with Amazon, Disney, and NBC, and the unprecedented collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with players, both negotiated this year. The media deal increased annual revenue to $281m and resulted in over 200 games being streamed or aired live this season out of 330 total regular-season games.
The CBA, ratified in March after contentious negotiations, raised the salary cap from $1.5m to $7m, gave players approximately 20% of shared revenue, increased supermax salaries to $1.4m, and established a $300,000 minimum salary. Engelbert defended the process, telling reporters during All-Star weekend, "It was contentious. Some of that is negotiations and the way negotiations work... And today, I just can't be more proud of these players: how we were able to have so many players sign million-dollar-plus, multi-year contracts."
Player Tensions and Communication Criticisms
Despite these successes, Engelbert faced criticism from players over communication. Phoenix Mercury's Alyssa Thomas said she didn't hear from Engelbert after receiving death threats following an incident with Caitlin Clark. "We still have yet to hear anything from Cathy, it's no surprise. As usual, she remains silent, and that's unfortunate when our lives are being threatened," Thomas told reporters.
A'ja Wilson joked at All-Star, "My only relationship with Cathy is when she hands me awards, which is great. I love to see her." Napheesa Collier also criticized Engelbert in October, recounting a February conversation about officiating and player compensation. Engelbert acknowledged the need for improvement, saying, "There's no doubt I need to be better, everybody needs to be better at communication... We'll continue to work on that and communicate."
Engelbert's retirement marks the end of an era that built a richer, larger, and more influential WNBA, though the distance between the commissioner and players often grew alongside the league's success.
