Cathy Engelbert is retiring as WNBA commissioner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement Friday.
Her tenure leading the league is over at the end of 2026.
Silver hired Engelbert to be the WNBA’s first commissioner in 2019, and she oversaw two major labor negotiations. Three new teams have entered the league, and three more are set to join by the end of the decade.
“I retire knowing we have built something bigger, stronger and more enduring than we could have imagined,” Engelbert said in a statement. The announcement said Engelbert came to the league with her decision to retire.
The WNBA is currently on an international break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin. Team USA defeated China earlier Friday 94–61 in the first game of the tournament.
Engelbert took over as commissioner—the first leader of the WNBA to have that title—following a long career at Deloitte that saw her rise to CEO. Her business acumen was highly touted at the time, and her seven years at the WNBA saw increased sponsorships, a larger media-rights deal that meant higher salaries, rapidly growing team valuations, and more teams.
But Engelbert’s time at the helm of the league has also been mired in controversy. Before the WNBA and its players’ association reached a new collective bargaining agreement earlier this year, Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said the WNBA has the “worst leadership in the world.” Engelbert has been criticized for how she has handled racial abuse toward players, the $75 million capital raise in 2022 that sold off 16% of the league, and steering the Connecticut Sun to Houston, among other issues.
“We didn’t always agree, but we absolutely shared a belief in what this league could become and in building a better future for the women at the heart of it,” WNBPA executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said in a statement. “I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish together and, on behalf of our player membership, I wish Cathy and her family nothing but the best in whatever she chooses to do next.”
“Leading through this much change is no small undertaking, and I have great respect for the commitment Cathy brought to the role,” WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike, herself retiring after this season, said in a statement.
Engelbert had repeatedly been evasive and defensive about her future. When asked about her status at the WNBA draft this spring, she told reporters: “I wonder whether you would ask that of a man, by the way, but I realize as women we get asked different questions than men do.”
“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” Silver said in a statement Friday. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”
It’s been a busy week for Silver, after the NBA inflicted the biggest punishment in league history on the Los Angeles Clippers for circumventing the salary cap.
Engelbert sent a letter to the players announcing her retirement, saying every milestone of her tenure “begins with you,” and that she feels “grateful for your advocacy and willingness to challenge us to be bold, listen more closely, and think differently.”
Engelbert will lead the search for the next commissioner, having already submitted a list of internal and external candidates to league owners and Silver, but the NBA commissioner has the final say, according to The IX Sports. Engelbert told the Associated Press she will remain commissioner into 2027 if the league is not able to find a replacement by the end of the year.
“It’s a good time to hand it off to the next leader to take the ‘W’ into a better phase,” Engelbert told the AP. “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.”
