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ESPN Senior Writer- Michael Voepel is a senior writer who covers the WNBA, women's college basketball and other college sports. Voepel began covering women's basketball in 1984, and has been with ESPN since 1996.
The WNBA has changed substantially since Cathy Engelbert -- who announced Friday she will retire at the end of this year -- took over in 2019. Her tenure included two collective bargaining agreements, an enormous increase in franchise valuations, expansion that will reach 18 teams by 2030 and a much greater global footprint.
Engelbert gets a lot of credit for that, but she also received plenty of criticism in her seven years, especially regarding her relationships with players.
What legacy does Engelbert leave behind? What traits should the WNBA be looking for in its next commissioner? And what will that leader's priorities be in their first year? ESPN examines the WNBA commissioner's job: the person who is leaving it and what awaits the person who takes over.
What is Engelbert's legacy as WNBA commissioner?
Michael Voepel: I've covered the WNBA since Day 1 and have worked with every WNBA leader. (They were called presidents until the title was changed for Engelbert's tenure.) Each brought her own skill set and led the league at different stages of growth. Val Ackerman was a lawyer who was instrumental in launching the league. Donna Orender worked at boosting visibility while also keeping the league alive during the global financial crisis of 2007-09. Laurel J. Richie was the first Black woman to take the league's leadership role, and Lisa Borders, also a Black woman with an extensive business background, navigated the more public actions players began to take with social justice initiatives.
Engelbert, previously CEO at Deloitte, came from the financial world, and at her first news conference in 2019 she stated her goals as expanding the league, making it financially viable and improving the player experience. All of those things have happened. Whatever Engelbert's missteps, the league is in a far better place as she leaves it.
Kendra Andrews: Though Engelbert had many wins during her tenure, I think the past year marked with tension with her players will overshadow everything else. When Napheesa Collier sat at the podium during her exit interview in September 2025 and shared the most public criticism an athlete has voiced about a commissioner, and then had her peers back her up, that became Engelbert's legacy. Since then, there has hardly been any positive review of Engelbert from WNBA players.
People will remember the boos that rained down on her at the Commissioner's Cup finals and WNBA All-Star Weekends. They will remember how long and contentious the 2026 CBA negotiations were, and they will remember how multiple figures around the league called for a new leader.
Two things can be true: Engelbert drove a lot of success in the league, and she was not beloved by players. The latter is what she will be remembered for.
Kareem Copeland: Time will likely forget the dustups -- the rocky relationship with players, slow-playing advancements in travel and other leaguewide accommodations, a tendency to be overconcerned about the older ownership groups while the league was growing with owners willing to invest more heavily. The bottom line is the league will have expanded to its highest number of teams in league history when Detroit and Cleveland arrive, expanded to the most games in league history, signed the biggest media deal in women's sports history and landed a CBA that transformed the league into a new era with the first million-dollar salaries. When people look back in 10-20 years, that's what will be remembered.
What were Engelbert's biggest wins as WNBA commissioner?
Andrews: Executing the WNBA bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 was a huge accomplishment for Engelbert. The 22-game season played in Florida against the backdrop of a deadly pandemic and national upheaval following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor shined a new spotlight on the WNBA. It allowed the league to dedicate that season to social injustices, but also the viewership and level of play produced in the Wubble set the league up for a level of success over the next five years no one could have expected, especially given the circumstances. That condensed 2020 season, which occurred on the heels of the 2020 CBA agreement, set the W up for growth and exposure that has helped get the league to where it is today.
Copeland: The 2026 CBA is the easy answer, and navigating the environment around COVID and the racial injustices of 2020 were massive wins. But the simple act of moving to chartered flights, despite Engelbert's hesitation to do so for years, was so much more than a convenience move. That affected player health, how the league could schedule games, player safety and just the overall cadence of how teams operate throughout the season. Watching entire teams standing next to the traveling public at baggage claim was a sight to see. The one simple act touched on so many areas throughout the league that it's funny to think that it was just in 2022 that the New York Liberty were fined $500,000 for chartering flights.
Voepel: From a purely financial aspect, the fact that franchise valuations skyrocketed during Engelbert's tenure has been her biggest win. That's what led to improved travel, facilities and expansion. When James Dolan put the New York Liberty on the market in November 2017, he essentially said the team was of no value to him. Joe and Clara Wu Tsai bought the franchise in early 2019 for between $10-15 million. Now the Liberty have been valued as high as $600 million. The popularity of the individual players like Caitlin Clark and the league as a whole have greatly increased what the franchises are worth. But those increases happened with Engelbert at the helm.
Statements from WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike and executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson: pic.twitter.com/tfnmiVloTQ
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) September 4, 2026
In what areas did Engelbert struggle as commissioner?
Andrews: One piece of feedback from a player is that Engelbert was too reactionary. Rarely was she -- or the league -- ahead of the problems facing the WNBA and its players; player safety and online hate and abuse are examples. When it comes to the Internet, there is only so much that can be done. But the complaint was rooted in how much the issue escalated before the league publicly addressed it.
Some also found Engelbert's reaction to those issues to be lackluster. In September 2024, Engelbert failed to condemn racist and vitriolic behavior surrounding the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese rivalry, instead telling CNBC that rivalries are good for the league. She later said she "missed the mark" with her initial statement and said it was a learning moment for her. She followed that by saying there is "no room for racism, misogyny [and] homophobia in the WNBA," but it was another missed opportunity to swiftly shut down a topic that has since grown into a major issue in WNBA discourse.
Voepel: To Kendra's points, Engelbert misjudged how to respond to players' concerns and wasn't able to build enough allies among either the owners or the players.
Some detractors also might point to the 2022 capital raise, when the WNBA sold a 16% equity stake to investors for $75 million, as a big mistake by Engelbert. But that move has to be taken in the context of when it happened: The WNBA badly needed that cash infusion, and the league's rapid growth since then was hardly expected. In early 2022, the "Caitlin Clark Effect" had yet to fully blossom -- it took off in 2023, her junior year at Iowa -- and the WNBA was still recovering from the 2020 pandemic season. So I don't see that capital raise as a failure so much as unfortunate timing, taking the circumstances into account.
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent this letter to players this morning announcing her retirement: pic.twitter.com/DbX6Vzw2G5
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) September 4, 2026
Who might be in the discussions to take the job next?
Voepel: Bethany Donaphin, head of league operations, knows well what the commissioner's job entails and briefly played in the WNBA after her college career at Stanford.
Two other names some have suggested are former player Swin Cash and soon-to-retire Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, the longtime president of the players association. Cash has management experience from her time as a senior vice president with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans. Ogwumike has plenty of experience with the league thanks to her involvement in two past CBAs, but she has been on the opposite side of the table. As commissioner, she would need to work for the owners.
Ultimately, this is a huge hire for Silver, who will be appointing the head of the WNBA for the third time since he became NBA commissioner in 2014.
What does the WNBA need from Engelbert's successor, especially in the first year?
Voepel: First off, repairing the relationship between both current and former players and the commissioner's office. That wasn't Engelbert's strength, and it damaged the perception of her tenure. The new commissioner must establish trust with the players. But the players must bear their share of responsibility in this, too. It has been easy for them to put the commissioner or the league on blast for everything they don't like or anything that went wrong in the past few years, even when that hasn't been constructive.
It would seem likely that any new commissioner will have a "honeymoon" period in which many players might be happy just to have someone different. But for the relationship to grow from that, both parties need to communicate and have respect for each other.
What skills or attributes does the next commissioner need?
Voepel: The WNBA commissioner needs to be an accomplished diplomat. There are so many constituencies involved in running a league: Obviously, there are the players. There are owners -- and remember, the commissioner works for them -- many of whom have been with the league for many years and others who are still learning the ropes. There are the fans -- some of whom have followed the league for decades; some who haven't. There are businesses and sponsors who have been with the WNBA a long time but still need to feel appreciated, and those that are new and must be cultivated. And there's the fact that the WNBA commissioner has a boss: the NBA commissioner.
The new commissioner will have to deal with an ever-growing media contingent and fanbase -- some of whom have followed the league for decades and some who haven't.
Engelbert's successor has to find a better way to navigate the racial tensions that everyone knows exist but are challenging to talk about in a constructive way. There are social issues that always seem to get magnified in women's sports.
The WNBA today is barely comparable to seven years ago, in a very good way. But with a bigger ecosystem -- to use one of Engelbert's favorite terms -- comes more opportunities and challenges. Other women's sports are growing, too, and while there is camaraderie there, the WNBA also wants to be the premiere women's sports league in the world. That means grassroots involvement and investment globally in girls' basketball. It means figuring out the WNBA's long-term relationship with Unrivaled. It means being a lot smarter about how to use social media for growth and healthy messaging. The WNBA found some new gears in Engelbert's tenure. Now it's time to really step on the gas.
Copeland: A more congenial relationship with the players is always nice in theory, but the general public often forgets that commissioners work for and represent the owners. There will always be conflict. As Kendra noted above, the league often gets itself in trouble for being slow to react when issues arise as opposed to getting out in front of things. Engelbert had a business background and that was her strong suit, but the league was often reactionary to issues that could be predicted. From problems with officiating to the sale of the Connecticut Sun to player safety and the current transgender conversation, the league was often playing catch-up, which further alienated players.
Is the WNBA better off now than it was when Engelbert took over?
Andrews: Without a doubt, yes. The 2026 WNBA has grown and changed exponentially from the version of the league Engelbert inherited in 2019. Purely from a size standpoint, the WNBA has grown from 12 staff members to nearly 100. The new media rights deal increased the league's economic growth, and the footprint has expanded from 12 teams to 15 (and 18 teams by 2030). Two major CBA deals were negotiated and agreed upon by Engelbert, ensuring the players more pay and benefits (which go to retired players as well), and helping land the first million-dollar contracts in league history. The health and sustainability of the WNBA is in a far better place than it was six years ago, and should be set up for far more success under the next commissioner.
Copeland: The league is in a completely different place today than it was in 2018. Now, Engelbert shouldn't get credit for all the advances, but she certainly played a significant role. Kendra hit all the touchpoints, but one thing that has advanced is the talent level in and entering the league. As the WNBA has grown into a sustainable major professional league in the United States in which players can stay at home and make generational wealth, young girls can have this as a goal in a more advanced way than ever before. The trickle down has been more youth programs and training opportunities for girls than in preceding years. Young girls are taking advantage, growing skills and defining goals earlier. It's not a surprise that there has been an influx of talent coming out of the drafts that are making an immediate and historical impact on the league -- Clark, Paige Bueckers, Reese, Olivia Miles, Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen to name a few. The depth and talent level in recent drafts has been more consistent and dependable in recent years. That's not directly related to the commissioner's role, but the growth and advanced state of the WNBA has had a direct impact on the youth ranks, which pays off for the league years later.
