Cathy Engelbert to Retire as WNBA Commissioner — SkimNews
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- Cathy Engelbert announced Friday she will retire as WNBA commissioner at the end of 2026 after seven years that included two collective bargaining agreements, expansion to 18 teams by 2030, and what the league calls the largest media deal in women's sports history.
- Franchise valuations skyrocketed during her tenure — the New York Liberty were purchased by Joe and Clara Wu Tsai for $10-15 million in early 2019 and have since been valued as high as $600 million.
- The 2026 CBA delivered the WNBA's first million-dollar player salaries, and the move to chartered flights addressed player health and safety concerns — a shift from 2022, when the Liberty were fined $500,000 for chartering on their own.
- The 2020 "Wubble" season, played in Florida during COVID-19 and the racial justice protests following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, gave the league unexpected visibility and set the stage for five years of growth.
- Napheesa Collier's September 2025 exit interview, in which she publicly criticized Engelbert and drew peer support, became the defining image of the commissioner's strained player relations — followed by boos at the Commissioner's Cup finals and All-Star Weekends.
- Engelbert's September 2024 response to racist and vitriolic behavior surrounding the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry — initially telling CNBC that rivalries are "good for the league" before walking it back — is flagged by reporters as a missed opportunity on player safety and online abuse.
- Potential successors include Bethany Donaphin (head of league operations), former player Swin Cash (former New Orleans Pelicans SVP), and retiring Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike — with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver making the appointment for the third time since 2014.
Why it matters: Engelbert's exit forces Adam Silver to find a commissioner who can repair player relations while sustaining the financial momentum — from a $10-15M Liberty purchase to a $600M valuation — that defined her tenure. The next leader inherits 18-team expansion by 2030 and first million-dollar salaries, but must rebuild trust with a players' association that has publicly demanded change.
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