WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to retire at end of the year

The GIST: ICYMI, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced her retirement on Friday after seven years in the position. Her last day on the job is December 31, 2026, with this epic 16 weeks’ notice launching a highly competitive job search that already has the rumor wheel spinning.

The context: Engelbert became the first commissioner of the WNBA in 2019, as previous league leaders held the position of president. The title change reflected evolving priorities in the W, where it needed less focus on daily operations and more on business growth and league strategy. As the former CEO of accounting giant Deloitte, Engelbert did just that.

• She led a $75M capital raise in 2022, set direction to increase the league from 12 to 18 franchises by 2030, introduced the first airline charter program for a women’s professional league in the U.S. and negotiated two collective bargaining agreements, the second of which included a $3.1B media rights deal.

The controversy: The league reached new business heights during her tenure, but Engelbert will likely be remembered for her relationship lows with the players, particularly when it came to athlete safety.

• From the lack of referee reform that led to more injuries to inaction regarding online harassment of players, Engelbert was rarely viewed as someone in the players’ corner, as Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier famously detailed in 2025.

The search: The Athletic put together a list of potential candidates to replace Engelbert ranging from frontrunners like basketball Hall of Famer Swin Cash and head of WNBA league ops Bethany Donaphin to longshots like former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and newly-announced retiree Nneka Ogwumike — who insists she needs a vacation first.

• On the plus side, the list is mostly women, but whoever takes the reins will inherit a complicated and uneven relationship with NBA leadership and its board of governors. Still, fans and players are (cautiously) excited to ring in the new year with a new leader. Start the countdown.