Cathy Engelbert says the WNBA job takes thick skin as she looks back on record growth before she retires

Cathy Engelbert is heading out the door with the WNBA bigger than it has ever been.

The retiring commissioner spoke to reporters Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco before the Golden State Valkyries hosted the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. She said she is very proud of how far the league has come. She also admitted the job demands "thick skin."

A record season

"This has been the most successful season in the history of our league by many metrics," Engelbert said.

She said the league reached more than 90 million unique viewers in the U.S. in the first year of its new media deals. Fans watched more than 320 million hours of games. Fifty-one telecasts averaged at least 1 million viewers, up from 19 last season.

Attendance set a record at an average of 11,500 fans per game and almost two-thirds of regular-season games sold out. Talking about the league's social and digital numbers, she joked, "Never thought I'd be standing up here talking in billions at the W, but we're there."

What changed on her watch

Engelbert took over in July 2019 when the league had 12 teams. It now has 15 after Golden State joined last year and Portland and Toronto joined this year. Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia are set to push the league to 18 teams by 2030.

Her tenure brought two labor deals, charter flights for teams, the Commissioner's Cup, a new broadcast deal and longer regular seasons and playoffs. The Valkyries became the first women's pro sports team valued at $1 billion. The top player salaries now pass $1 million under the newest labor deal.

A rocky road with players

The growth came with friction. Her relationship with players hit a low point last year ahead of tense labor talks that were settled in March. Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier was among the players who publicly blasted league leadership.

"Not everybody's going to like you, or agree with your strategy," said Engelbert, who spent 30 years at Deloitte and served as its CEO. She said the league was "virtually insolvent" when she arrived and had to grow before it could pay players more.

The search for her successor

Engelbert announced her retirement on Sept. 4 and will step down at the end of the year. A search firm is looking for her replacement and she said there is a lot of interest in the job.

She added that a centralized replay center in Secaucus, New Jersey, is still on track to open for the 2027 season.