CHICAGO — Cathy Engelbert was asked a widely expected question about her future as WNBA commissioner. She avoided answering it directly.
Speaking at her press conference Saturday ahead of the WNBA All-Star Game, Engelbert was asked whether she expects to be WNBA commissioner in 2027. She responded with a two-minute answer about continuing to do her job, before praising the growth of the league during her tenure.
“I’m so blessed to be at the helm of this league during this incredible hyper growth period. So blessed that these players are putting a product on the court every night. That they stand for the values that the W has long sought for,” she said.
“I will just continue to do my job, executive the strategy because it has been working, make sure we listen to the players, communicate with the players. Absolutely just love this league and blessed to have had the career I had before and the career I have now. And mostly just the team we build at the league.”
Engelbert’s answers come as questions have swirled about her future. Multiple reports leading into All-Star Weekend have said that owners, front office personnel, and players are skeptical that Engelbert is the right leader for the WNBA post-CBA.
At the WNBA draft in April, she also dodged the same question about her future, but gave a more aggressive response to a reporter: “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.”
Engelbert has been WNBA commissioner since 2019, overseeing two CBA negotiations, including the recent agreement that led to a historic increase in player salaries. The CBA resulted in media rights renegotiations that totaled about $3.1 billion over 11 years, an average annual value of $281 million that is 6.5 times the previous deal.
The league has also seen continued momentum this season, with record-high attendance and new viewership records across its expanded list of broadcast partners. Saturday’s All-Star Game tickets were sold out on the primary market days before the actual game, while the gameday get-in price of $355 at United Center was five times more than last year in Indianapolis. (Caitlin Clark missed last year’s game due to injury, but is healthy this year.)
Even alongside its rise in popularity, the WNBA has become the epicenter of a culture war.
In recent weeks, Engelbert has been criticized for the league’s handling of the on-court incident when Alyssa Thomas struck Caitlin Clark in the throat. Thomas was retroactively suspended, but said later on that she received death threats following the incident. (Other players have expressed concerns about player safety after receiving threats, many of which come from sports bettors.)
Engelbert’s Relationship With Players
Engelbert, who was CEO of Deloitte before taking the WNBA job, has been criticized for not building proper rapport with the players in a historically player-driven league. Asked about the status of her relationship with the players following a contentious CBA negotiation cycle, Engelbert said she thinks they’re in a “really good place” because the players are able to reap the rewards of the league’s growth.
“We’re all kind of gelling from that perspective of ‘what’s good for our players is good for our league.’ And we’ll all benefit from that,” Engelbert said.
Engelbert also sent a deliberate message condemning the hate spewed at players, a stark contrast from past remarks she’s made.
“What too many players across the WNBA have experienced is unacceptable. In many cases, it’s disgusting. The racism, misogyny, homophobia, the harassment, and threats directed to our players has no place in sport or anywhere else. This is their workplace. It has no place,” Engelbert said.
“The WNBA is built on inclusion and respect, and those values have defined this league for 30 years. And it will continue to define us for the next 30.”
WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike kept a neutral stance when asked by Front Office Sports whether she’d be open to Engelbert staying on as commissioner beyond this year.
“It’s not on me to decide,” Ogwumike, who has been union president since 2016, said Friday ahead of All-Star practice. “For players, when leadership is here, we rock with leadership. Cathy is here. I know there’s a lot of different conversations around the future of our leadership. But I told her that on Monday: This is who we got, this is what we all envision that we want us to be, and we’re going to rock with who we got.”
Four-time MVP A’ja Wilson said Saturday that her only relationship with Engelbert is “when she hands me awards.”
She continued, “Obviously I’d love to have great leadership, but it’s really just up to us. We’re the true leaders. This league goes the way that we go.”
Engelbert’s authority was also in question after SBJ reported that it was NBA commissioner Adam Silver who persuaded the WNBA commissioner to suspend Thomas. The NBA owns a 42% stake in the WNBA.
The WNBA denied that report, but Silver did not deny his involvement when asked last week.
Silver has been asked multiple times about whether he expects Engelbert to continue beyond this WNBA season. He’s also refused to provide a definitive response. Last week, he praised the business success the WNBA has experienced under Engelbert’s tenure: “Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league and we’ll have ongoing discussions.”
