WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, a South Jersey native, to retire in December

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is retiring at the end the year, bringing to a close her seven-plus years at the helm of the league and a stewardship that has been transformative and at times tumultuous.

Engelbert is the second-longest tenured WNBA president or commissioner, and she helped negotiate a lucrative collective bargaining agreement this past spring that resulted in the league’s first set of million-dollar player salaries. Philly-based lawyer Deb Willig helped lead negotiations for that CBA.

“Cathy has presided over the WNBA through the most significant period of growth in the league’s 30-year history,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said Friday when announcing Engelbert’s decision. “We are grateful for Cathy’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the advancement of women’s basketball.”

» READ MORE: Before she helped negotiate the WNBA’s ‘life-changing’ CBA, this Philly lawyer hooped at Lower Merion and Penn

Engelbert, a Collingswood native who turns 62 in November, told the Associated Press that she has been thinking about retiring for months.

“When I first came to the league, I intended to do this for 3½ years,” she said in a phone interview. “The 7½ years exceeded that time. This is a really good time, given the financial transformation journey we’ve been on. Getting the collective bargaining agreement done, getting a long-term media rights deal done, getting expansion done.”

Engelbert insists that the decision to leave was her own and that she did not feel any pressure to step down from NBA or WNBA stakeholders.

The commissioner said she has been working on a succession plan over the last few years. While she didn’t give any specifics on who might be considered for the position, Engelbert did say there are both internal and external potential candidates on the league’s radar.

“It’s a good time to hand it off to the next leader to take the ‘W’ into a better phase,” she said. “I’m proud of the team we built and everything we accomplished. A leader knows when it’s time to drop the mic and move on after building a powerhouse team in the league office.”

Engelbert said she has mixed emotions about leaving.

“I love women’s basketball, and am not going anywhere yet,” said Engelbert, who was a point guard for Muffet McGraw at Lehigh. “We’ll run a real succession process in the remaining four months. If we don’t find someone, I’ll stay on. I had no transition. I walked in the door, and I was by myself as no one transitioned me into this role.

“Hopefully I can help this next leader transition in especially considering the elevation of this league.”

» READ MORE: Cathy Engelbert has deep basketball roots in South Jersey and the Big 5 | from 2019

The WNBA has grown at an exponential rate during Engelbert’s tenure as commissioner, with record television ratings, strong attendance, a new long-term media rights deal and expansion to 18 teams by the end of the decade. That run of expansion will be capped by a team coming to Philadelphia in 2030.

“I was brought in as a business leader to transform the business,” she said. “I look at revenue and merchandise, viewership and attendance,” she said, noting how they’ve all improved. “A great leader senses when it’s time for someone else to come in. When I came in, this league was facing questions about our long-term viability and sustainability.”

Engelbert said the growth of the league has “blown away her expectations” since she stepped into her role after leaving her previous position as president of Deloitte in 2019.

Besides the new CBA, the list of things she is most proud of includes getting charter travel for players, keeping the league going during the coronavirus pandemic, the historic media rights deal and exponential increase in the value of WNBA franchises. In 2019, the average value of a WNBA franchise was $10 million; in 2026, it is about $460 million.

Along with the financial gains, however, turmoil and tension have accompanied the WNBA’s growth.

Players say they have seen more social media vitriol directed toward them over the last few years, and some don’t feel the league has done enough to ensure their safety. The league also has been at the center of discussions about transgender athletes playing in the league.

Engelbert has repeatedly said the online attacks of players are unacceptable and she backs league initiatives to protect players. She also said there should be no confusion on the transgender question.

“We have no current eligibility issues in the WNBA,” Engelbert said, adding that “if we did, we would have a thoughtful policy discussion with the [players’ association] and the players.”

» READ MORE: Caitlin Clark unveils Taylor Swift friendship bracelet-inspired shoes — but they won’t be on sale for a while

While there was a strained partnership between the commissioner and players during the recent CBA negotiations, Engelbert insists she has a good relationship with them.

Talks between the commissioner and players have been complicated.

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, who’s vice president of the WNBA players’ union executive committee, said before the All-Star Game that there is a respect for Engelbert among the players, just not much of a relationship.

Engelbert said she is ready to do what most retirees plan: spend more time with family.

She also admitted that the online hate she receives has affected her family as well, though she did not share details of the impact.

“There have been some hard parts of that on my family with the vitriol and hate I get online,” Engelbert said.

Her retirement will make her mother happy. Her father, Kurt, was a Hall of Fame basketball player at St. Joseph’s who died in 1987. Her parents were from Northeast Philly, and five of her siblings attended Villanova, according to a 2019 Inquirer article.

“My mom is turning 90 this year, and she said that ‘it would be good if you were retired to spend more time with me,’” Engelbert said, laughing. “I have two children, one I barely see.

“I’m one of eight kids [and I] have five brothers. They always say can you retire so you can spend more time with us.”

Come Jan. 1, her family will get its wish.