Since being named as the first commissioner in WNBA history on May 15, 2019, Cathy Engelbert has presided over a period of unprecedented growth in women's professional basketball.
Engelbert, the former Deloitte CEO, helped secure a historic $2.2 billion media rights deal for the WNBA last year amid a 180 percent increase in franchise valuations. Under Engelbert's watch, organizations around the league have dedicated significant resources to state-of-the-art practice facilities that will ensure high-quality competition for years to come.
But Engelbert's tenure as commissioner has had its problems, too. Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier laid those issues bare for all to see on Tuesday, when she claimed Engelbert and league leadership are the "worst in the world" at protecting the WNBA's players amid continued discourse around the quality of league officiating -- and against the backdrop of contentious collective bargaining negotiations.
MORE: Lynx's Napheesa Collier bashes WNBA amid hefty fine for Cheryl Reeve
As a potential lockout looms that could threaten the 2026 season, Engelbert has been backed into a corner. Collier's comments cut to the bone, and Engelbert did not exactly deny anything the MVP runner-up said during her exit interview in Minneapolis.
The criticism came hours before Sports Business Journal dropped a bombshell report: Engelbert is set to leave her role as commissioner -- perhaps voluntarily -- following the CBA negotiations.
Sources: Engelbert likely to exit as WNBA commissioner after CBA negotiations. “She hasn’t connected; she’s not a relationship builder," one source said. A WNBA spokesperson called remarks about Engelbert's future, "categorically false." https://t.co/5n27sqLw6t
— Sports Business Journal (@SBJ) September 30, 2025
According to a league source who spoke to SBJ, Engelbert's difficulty in forming relationships with players has led to significant strain -- ever since her refusal to immediately condemn hate speech that targeted players like Angel Reese on social media last year.
“I think she’s a wicked smart business person, and the success she gets a lot of credit for," the source said. "But a commissioner has to have a personality element that can touch every constituent that they have. I think she’s just lacking in it."
Though a WNBA spokesperson has called the report "categorically false," it could be argued that the writing is already on the wall for Engelbert in the wake of Collier's statement -- an explosive, potentially-transformative decision that weakens the commissioner's position even further.
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