Cathy Engelbert was quizzed on her WNBA future weeks before Sophie Cunningham’s comments

Sophie Cunningham has recently been discussing the future of Cathy Engelbert as the WNBA commissioner.

Engelbert has been commissioner since 2019, but her contract with the league is thought to be up after the 2026 season.

Now, Cunningham has hinted that we could see someone else in that role moving forward.

The Indiana Fever star suggested that Engelbert’s role could ‘maybe open at the end of the year’, before adding ‘that’s up to Adam Silver at the end of the day’.

It remains to be seen exactly what the future holds for Engelbert, but she was asked about still being in charge come 2027 in an interview last month.

Cathy Engelbert did not confirm if she’d be WNBA commissioner in 2027

Sports Business Journal shared a transcript from the interview in question, which was published on July 26.

In it, one reporter asks: “Just wanted to ask you directly: Do you expect to be commissioner of the WNBA at the start of the 2027 season?”

The current commissioner then gave a lengthy response, which can be seen below, but did not directly answer whether she would still be in charge next year.

She said: “Obviously, I am so blessed to be at the helm of this league during this incredible hypergrowth period. So blessed that these players are putting the product on the court they are every night, that they stand for the values that the W has long sought for.

“I will just continue to do my job, execute the strategy, because it has been working. Make sure we listen to the players, communicate with the players. So absolutely just love this league and blessed to have had the career I had before and the career I have now.

“Mostly the team we’ve built at the league. I mean, the capability. Remember, I came in here and I’ve told some of you, there were 12 people working at the league. There’s 12 people probably for the 24 years before I got here. Now we have almost a hundred people working full time. We have a lot of others that help us. We leverage off the NBA model as well.

“The enormous capability we’ve built in digital, social. We have engineers and WordPress, marketers and brand. We have data, analytics, data scientists. That’s what I’m most proud of. We have built a powerhouse team. That is what I focus on, is leading that team, and leading that team to help, again, this game continue to grow, so that young girls who typically drop out of sports too quick can see our players as their role models. That’s what keeps me going.

“Just having the Nike national EYBL players here is just incredible because I’ve spent time with so many of them over WNBA Live and in the hotel. Just how they view this league and role models.

“I can’t tell you how many come up to me and say, Cathy, I want you to draft me in 2033 or 2034. I’m like, Oh, boy. But they’re really excited about this league. That’s what keeps us all going.”

Read more: