WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has made it clear when it comes to hot button topics like league expansion and chartered flights, she’s on the side of the league’s financial stability.
Over the first three weeks of the WNBA season, Engelbert has been on a league-wide tour, most recently making a stop in Chicago for the Sky’s championship banner and ring ceremony. Following her visit to Seattle in Week 1, it was reported that Engelbert said the league is interested in adding two expansion teams in the next few years.
During Engelbert’s Tuesday appearance in Chicago, she said this isn’t completely accurate.
“That’s not exactly what I said,” Engelbert told reporters. “It could be just one expansion team.”
Engelbert hasn’t said definitively when the WNBA would see expansion, only that it’s great to be having conversations about the league’s growth and that she’s hopeful there will be more to say this summer.
When it comes to how Engelbert plans to expand the WNBA, she believes the answer is with teams, not roster spots.
“I think the discussion should be around expansion of teams in more cities,” Engelbert said. “That’s where you build fandom, grow revenue, and that’s where all the players will benefit versus adding a roster spot here and there,”
When asked if roster expansion is something that could be implemented before the league’s eight-year CBA expires in 2027, Engelbert responded with her thoughts on team expansion.
She brought up the 24 roster spots that would be available if the league expanded by two teams, but nearly all of the 12 teams presently in the league are operating with 11 players. When the CBA was agreed to in 2020, players max salaries nearly doubled while the salary cap saw a 30% increase causing general managers, many who are also coaches like the Sky’s James Wade, to get creative with how they would fill out their rosters.
While the talent pool continues to grow, general managers are still limited by a strict salary cap.
“I appreciate the players, but they know what they signed in the CBA,” Engelbert said. “Roster sizes were not on their list. Getting paid more was on their list.”
Players have made it clear that roster expansion is on their list now, with several of the league’s stars publicly pushing for this change, including the Sky’s Candace Parker.
Parker believes with the impending retirement of a number of the league’s hall of fame players, the WNBA won’t have enough stars to fill out new expansion teams. Engelbert thinks the NCAA is a healthy feeder into the WNBA.
Engelbert listed playing time as another drawback of roster expansion, but players and coaches don’t see it that way. In an ideal world, they would see both.
“Honestly, I think we should do both,” Vandersloot said. “I don’t think 12, which is really 11 players is plausible, but if we’re at a position where they think we can expand and be successful, we should take advantage of that too. Why is it so crazy to have 14 teams with 14 players on each roster?”
Engelbert is adamantly pushing what she believes is working for the WNBA coming off of two seasons impacted by the pandemic, and that’s the development of the league’s economics. The league’s $75 million capital raise, the largest ever for a women’s sports property, was announced in February.
According to Engelbert, the investment largely funded marketing efforts, the improvement of digital products and fan outreach, all in an effort to increase revenue. Ultimately, though, the players are the product and responsible for the league’s revenue.
Their opinions on expansion must be heeded.
