WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert Announces Retirement After More Than 7 Years Leading the League
She became the league’s commissioner in 2019.
Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner, announced on Friday that she will be retiring at the end of the year.
She’s led the WNBA to new heights as the second-longest WNBA president or commissioner while also weathering issues from social media campaigns against players and facing scrutiny over negotiating with the league’s union over pay.
“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Friday, the Associated Press reports. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”
In an interview with the AP, Engelbert, said she’d been thinking about retirement for a while now.
“When I first came to the league, I intended to do this for 3 1/2 years,” she told the news agency. “The 7 1/2 years exceeded that time. This is a really good time given the financial transformation journey we’ve been on. Getting the collective bargaining agreement done, getting a long-term media rights deal done, getting expansion done.”
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Engelbert, who is 62, told the AP the decision was her own and she hadn’t felt pressured by any NBA or WNBA stakeholders.
She explained that she’s been working on a plan for the league after she leaves.
“It’s a good time to hand it off to the next leader to take the ‘W’ into a better phase,” Engelbert said. “I’m proud of the team we built and everything we accomplished. A leader knows when it’s time to drop the mic and move on after building a powerhouse team in the league office.”
Under her leadership, the WNBA has grown significantly. That includes TV ratings, attendance at games, and media rights deals.
The AP reports that back in 2019, the value of a WNBA franchise was $10 million. Today, it’s around $460 million.
“What she’s done for the league is incredible,” New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, vice president of the WNBA players’ union executive committee, said. “Obviously, the CBA [collective bargaining agreement]negotiation was a tough one, but the way that both sides continue to have a huge win is really important. So really happy for her and hope that she continues to remember that and reflect on that.”
