The WNBA’s Leadership Crisis Has a Name: Cathy Engelbert By Anthony Price  WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addresses the media before Game 1 of the Finals. Photo: AP Photo/John Loche.  Championship season has arrived in the WNBA, but the spotlight isn’t on the court—it’s on the commissioner. The Las Vegas Aces are leading the Phoenix Mercury, 2-0, in the best-of-seven Finals, but the headlines aren’t about A’ja Wilson’s dominance or Phoenix’s rebuild after losing future Hall of Famers Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Instead, all eyes are on Commissioner Cathy Engelbert—and not for the right reasons. The matchup of the Aces and Mercury alone is worthy of a docuseries. The Aces have a 23-3 record, after their worst loss in franchise history—a 111-58 humiliation against the Minnesota Lynx. The Mercury overhauled their roster after saying adieu to Taurasi and Griner. But none of that is driving the national conversation. Engelbert has become persona non grata—the most loathed sports commissioner in professional sports. Her increasingly toxic brand now threatens to overshadow the league’s on-court brilliance and jeopardize the hard-earned growth after decades of meticulously proving it was worthy of fans’ attention, devotion, and advertising dollars. Not a Wise Conversation Engelbert, the former Deloitte CEO who has served as WNBA commissioner since 2019, has never lacked confidence. But she may have missed the anonymous warning: "A fool can throw a stone in a pond that a hundred wise men cannot get out." Her verbal stone has turned into a tsunami—one that may lead her boss, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, to end her tenure before she capsizes the league’s momentum. A fool can throw a stone in a pond that a hundred wise men cannot get out. How We Got Here The controversy began when WNBA star Napheesa Collier raised a reasonable question from afar: why aren’t rising stars like Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, and Angel Reese being paid more? These are the players expected to define the next decade of the league. They’ve already expanded its fan base dramatically and helped secure a billion-dollar media rights deal starting in 2026.  Caitlin Clark sits on the bench. Photo: ABC News  Collier is one of the W’s best players, a co-founder of Unrivaled (the 3-on-3 women’s professional league), and vice president of the Women’s National Basketball Players Association. She is well respected in the league. According to Collier, Engelbert’s response was, “Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.” And in that same conversation, Engelbert added, “Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars, for the media right deal that I got them.” For context, the 2025 rookie salary scale ranges from $66,079 to 78,831, based on Spotrac.com—a fraction of what players in other professional leagues make. A Growing Divide Engelbert’s comments only deepened the perception that she’s out of touch with the labor side of the league. Coincidentally, her salary is the only commissioner compensation not available online, but it’s almost certainly way above the $249,244 earned by Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell, the WNBA’s highest-paid player in 2025. To the players, the message is clear: Engelbert is cruising on a yacht they built, while they’re still treated as deckhands. Given the league’s rising valuations and new revenue streams, they see themselves as underpaid architects of a booming business. Perhaps the new anonymous quote should be updated: “Those who ride yachts and ignore labor should be cursed with a thousand tsunamis.” Those who ride yachts and ignore labor should be cursed with a thousand tsunamis.  Nepheesa Collier meets with the press. Leadership When Napheesa Collier stepped to the microphone at her exit interview last week, she didn’t hold back. She revealed the details of her conversation with Cathy Engelbert and declared that the WNBA has “the worst leadership in the world.” It was a stunning, public repudiation that reverberated across the sports world. Engelbert responded through a prepared statement the next day, saying that she was “disheartened” by the reports. On Friday, at her annual pre-Finals press conference on the day of Game 1, she flatly denied making the comments Collier attributed to her about Caitlin Clark. “I did not make those comments, she told reporters, according to ESPN. There was no no mea culpa. Engelbert offered only a vague concession: “We have to do better, and I have to do better,” referring to player frustrations with league leadership. Labor vs Capital The dispute is much bigger than one heated conversation. It’s the opening volley in a classic labor-versus-capital showdown: David versus Goliath. The current collective bargaining agreement (CBA) expires at the end of this month, and the negotiations are expected to be fierce. At stake is money—how much the players will get versus what the owners will keep. And there’s plenty of money to fight over. The league is expected to haul in over $900 million in franchise fees alone in the coming years. Expansion Money, Player Scraps Recent expansion deals underscore the growing financial gap.
Under the current CBA, franchise fees are not considered basketball-related revenue, meaning players don’t receive a cent from those windfalls. Meanwhile, the league insists that it’s still losing money—even as franchise values soar. A Stark Revenue Divide Currently, WNBA players receive just 9.3% of revenue, compared 49-51% in the NBA and roughly 50-50 splits in other major U.S. professional leagues. The current WNBA salary cap is $1.5 million per team for 12 players, a fraction of the earnings of their male counterparts. This disparity explains why, for years, overseas leagues like Russia were an attractive option for top players, until Brittney Griner’s 2022 detention forced the issue into the spotlight.  Napheesa Collier signs a UConn jersey at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn. Photo: Anthony Price. A commissioner’s role demands diplomacy, not braggadocio. Engelbert seems to prefer the latter. What’s Next? A commissioner’s role demands diplomacy, not braggadocio. Engelbert seems to prefer the latter. Her leadership—already under scrutiny—now faces its biggest test. Her self-importance has eroded credibility with players, at precisely when trust is essential. The league has until the end of October to finalize a new collective bargaining agreement or agree to continue negotiating. The players and management will have to find common ground. But with Engelbert at the helm, the talks are likely to be acrimonious. Her self-inflicted wounds could cost both sides dearly if negotiations break down and a work stoppage follows. The players have already rallied around Collier. The looming question is whether NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will rally around Engelbert. If he does, billions of dollars in future investment could go up in smoke like dry leaves in a bonfire. Fans should be celebrating the WNBA’s on-court brilliance this fall. Instead, Engelbert’s missteps have put nearly 30 years of league building at risk. The league is ready for its next era. The question is whether Cathy Engelbert is. ### Anthony Price is an entrepreneur, author and publisher of CT Hoops Magazine. Around the Sun is a weekly column about the Connecticut Sun.
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