Beleaguered WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert out after season

Embattled WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is set to retire at the end of the calendar year, the league announced Friday morning.

Engelbert, 61, became the first commissioner in league history, and has guided the WNBA through expansion, revenue growth and TV deals, though she has also faced scrutiny for the WNBA’s handling of stars and high-profile incidents, especially during heated CBA negotiations in 2025.

“After more than seven years at the WNBA and more than 40 total years in business. I have made the decision to retire as WNBA Commissioner,” she said in a statement. “In 2019, I had the privilege of being appointed the league’s first commissioner and to lead a league with enormous potential yet untapped awareness and significant undervaluation. Over the years, it has been amazing to watch WNBA players thrive and lead the massive cultural surge around women’s sports.”

Engelbert got her start at Deloitte in 1986, rising to the become the first female CEO of the multinational accounting firm.

Her contract with the league runs out at the end of the year.

In her tenure with the WNBA, she has overseen the league’s planned expansion from 12 teams to an expected 18 by 2030. As the league has been thrust into the spotlight — with massive media deals and league-wide growth, Engelbert has faced growing resentment from players for her treatment of them on and off the court, as well as her handling of social justice issues.

The league’s stars have not been shy in their criticism with the Lynx’s Napheesa Collier saying the has the “worst leadership in the world,” the Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu saying she has a closer relationship to Silver and more recently Fever firebrand Sophie Cunningham openly calling for change.

“(Cathy Engelbert’s) done a lot of good things, but with where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that,” Cunningham said last month. “That’s just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players ― we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but … that’s up to Adam Silver at the end of the day.”

Silver has not publicly backed Engelbert when given the chance in recent months, though he has said he was “pleased” with the “tremendous progress” made under her guidance.

“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” said Silver in a statement Friday. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”