Amid growing on- and off-court controversies surrounding the league for months, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has announced her retirement. Her announcement comes after the WNBA Commissioner announced last month that the league would further deliberate on the transgender and eligibility concerns being raised by the likes of former NBA players such as Enes Kanter Freedom. However, Engelbert isn’t stepping down immediately.
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“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,” Cathy Engelbert said in her statement on Friday, with the WNBA clarifying that her retirement will be “effective” at the end of this year.
“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.”
Cathy Engelbert’s tenure since taking over the Commissioner’s role has been marked by historic growth. WNBA experienced a massive increase in viewership across all platforms, and the league also signed a $2.2 billion media deal, which is the first-ever billion-dollar media deal signed by the WNBA.
During her tenure, WNBPA also signed the historic 2026 Collective Bargaining Agreement, which marked a massive salary cap increase from $1.5 million to $7 million. According to ESPN, the super-max salary in 2026 started at $1.4 million, which was $249,244 in 2025.
Perhaps Cathy Engelbert’s most lasting legacy will be her historic expansion. She negotiated the WNBA’s biggest expansion plan, increasing the number of teams from 12 to 18. She had already added three teams in the last two seasons.
“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 in his statement.
“We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”
However, her tenure was also not without controversy. Napheesa Collier gave a harsh verdict on Engelbert’s leadership last year started to turn the tide against her. The massive 17-month process the culmianted with an 8-day marathon meeting with the players before the new CBA was finalized also didn’t reflect positively on her, Cathy Engelbert, and then came this season’s controversy.
The league’s special officiating task force failed to resolve the league’s physicality issues. While the number of foul calls increased, it didn’t help things, and then a missed call when Alyssa Thomas made hard contact with Caitlin Clark’s throat set off a league-wide controversy.
Following the June 24, 2026 incident, Thomas received extreme online backlash, including life threats. She then called out Cathy Engelbert for her silence, saying it was a pattern from the league’s commissioner.
“We still have yet to hear anything yet from Cathy. It’s no surprise. You can see what’s being said on social media. It’s unfortunate, but as usual, she remains silent,” Thomas told reporters on Tuesday, June 30.
She also didn’t address the transgender participation issue before things once again got out of hand, with rallies in support of and against Sophie Cunningham, and then ex-NBA players like Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announcing thier eligibility for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
Meanwhile, Cathy Engelbert believes this is the right time to step down.
“I did. It’ll be seven-and-a-half by the end of the year, and obviously, I turned 62 in November. [It] was always my goal to retire at 62, and I just feel like we’re in a really good place from a variety of perspectives on the league,” Engelbert told IX Sports in a one-on-one phone conversation earlier this week.
Whether Cathy Engelbert does something more to put an end to the controversies ahead of her last day as the WNBA Commissioner remains to be seen.