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SAN FRANCISCO — In what may be her final public address before her retirement, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert offered some words to her successor.
“I would tell the next commissioner that we’ve got to continue [the growth] and get into a sustained growth period for the league office,” Engelbert said Saturday ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.
“And then the teams are still in hyper growth and still support the teams in their growth objectives because teams have grown a lot.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced Engelbert’s retirement in early September. The league hired Excel Search & Advisory earlier this month to be the search firm for its next commissioner, though Silver will have the final say on the selection.
Engelbert’s contract expires at the end of this season, and she will not stay on next year to aid in the transition, according to The Athletic.
Asked Saturday if she has worked with Excel, Engelbert said she met with the firm and receives periodic updates. She added that she’s also submitted several candidates for the firm to review.
“The good news is there’s people who really want to take on this role, which I think is great,” Engelbert said.
She added that the priorities for the next commissioner need to be continuing to expand the league’s global footprint and integrate additional technological enhancements, both aspects she’s talked about throughout the last year. One tech enhancement coming is the centralized replay center, which they announced in July, and Engelbert said Saturday is on track to be operational starting next season.
The league has grown significantly under Engelbert’s tenure, including signing a media-rights deal worth more than $3 billion and securing a transformational collective bargaining agreement with the players’ union that has five times the average player salary.
But Engelbert’s tenure has also been marred by criticism, particularly around the culture war surrounding the league and the vitriol players have received. Several players have also admitted that Engelbert has struggled to build relationships with them.
On Saturday, Engelbert said the next commissioner needs to continue to work on enhancing players’ safety. She also shared some soft skills she feels the next commissioner must have.
“It’s like a multi-dimensional role. You have to have very thick skin … You have to have confidence that we can continue this growth trajectory, and confidence in building relationships with players and agents, and the Board of Governors, the owners, and the stakeholders.”
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