WNBA Star Relays Surprising Conversation She Had With Commissioner About Caitlin Clark

Lynx star Napheesa Collier brought Engelbert's troubling comments to light regarding Clark and some of the game's other biggest stars.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert's recent comments in a conversation with Lynx star Napheesa Collier should give fans of the league pause. / Andrew Dolph / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Minnesota Lynx were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs last Friday when the franchise fell to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA semifinals.

The Mercury await the winner of Game 5 between the Las Vegas Aces and Indiana Fever on Tuesday night in the WNBA Finals.

Lynx star Napheesa Collier made waves on Tuesday as she conducted an exit interview as part of her year-end responsibilities with the franchise. Collier expressed optimism about the future of the league, but was less than complimentary about the leadership of the WNBA. Most notably? League commissioner Cathy Engelbert.

Collier said the WNBA has "the best fans in the world, the best players in the world, but the worst leadership in the world." When pressed further, Collier said that she had a recent conversation with Engelbert where the league's head said that Fever star Caitlin Clark should be grateful for the WNBA because the league is responsible for her sponsorship deals.

"I asked how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin [Clark], Angel [Reese] and Paige [Bueckers], who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little their first four years," Collier said. "Her 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.' In that same conversation, she told me, 'Players should be on their knee thanking their lucky stars for the media rights deal that I got them.'"

Napheesa Collier Full and unedited statement

I’ll have specific quotes after media is done pic.twitter.com/k3BlmTVmPh

— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) September 30, 2025

It sure sounds like Engelbert is taking Clark for granted.

Clark is must-see television. The league's ratings (and ticket sales) reflect that. Sure, the WNBA was enjoying a bump to television ratings before Clark, but adding a player who is so popular that Fever games were getting moved to NBA arenas (and subsequently selling said arenas out) speaks more to Clark's status as a box office athlete than it does to the WNBA's new media rights deal.

If Clark left the WNBA, would ratings be the same? Would ticket sales be the same?

Let's not be silly.

Engelbert's comments should be of concern to WNBA fans. Collier is aware enough to acknowledge where the league's bread is buttered. Perhaps the head of the league should exercise a similar level of self-awareness, both on and off the record, in the future.

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