Representative Angie Craig has expressed interest in becoming the next WNBA commissioner, calling the executive role a dream job as she prepares to leave Congress.
The 54-year-old Minnesota Democrat will complete her term in the U.S. House of Representatives in January after opting against re-election and losing a Senate primary election.
Speaking to Sydney Kashiwagi of The Minnesota Star Tribune, Craig revealed that she discussed the potential move with her wife Cheryl before publicly declaring her interest in the vacancy.
"If the WNBA called, that's the one job my wife would say, 'Take the call,' at this moment in time," Craig told the newspaper.
House Exit and League Vacancy
Craig posted on X in September that she would become a free agent in January, aligning with the retirement of outgoing commissioner Cathy Engelbert last month.
The Women's National Basketball Association, founded in 1996 as North America's premier professional women's basketball league, has not yet named a successor to lead the organization. The commissioner serves as chief executive officer, overseeing commercial partnerships, franchise expansions, team governance, and national broadcast arrangements across the league.
Although Craig promised her wife she would make no immediate career commitments after stepping down from Congress, she eagerly put her name forward for the WNBA leadership position. She did not share specific operational or commercial plans for the basketball league, explaining her interest by calling the commissioner post every middle-aged lesbian's dream job.
Craig, a married mother of four, currently represents Minnesota's second congressional district, an area situated south of Minneapolis that spans suburban communities and rural farmland. After deciding not to seek another term representing the district in the House, she entered the Democratic Senate primary but lost the nomination to Peggy Flanagan. Consequently, the congresswoman is actively preparing for her post-political career.
Lynx Fandom and Officiating Disputes
Craig's interest in the chief executive role builds on her long history as an avid basketball enthusiast. She is a regular spectator at home games for the Minnesota Lynx at the Target Center arena in downtown Minneapolis. In 2024, she traveled to New York to watch the Lynx face the New York Liberty in the WNBA Finals, a hard-fought championship series that ended in defeat for Minnesota.
Following that championship series, Craig voiced strong frustration with league leadership. In a 2025 public statement addressing gender pay equity between male and female professional athletes, she sharply criticized Engelbert and the league office over their perceived bias toward major media markets.
Craig claimed the league office favored New York over Minnesota, writing that the WNBA wanted the Liberty to win because of their big-market location and superstar faces. She pointed out that the league commissioner literally wore the New York City skyline on her dress during the deciding game, arguing that Minnesota presented the wrong script for the league office by being too gritty, too real, and too inconvenient.
Revenue Growth and League Scrutiny
Engelbert's seven-year tenure leading the WNBA generated unprecedented commercial growth alongside ongoing operational debate. Under her leadership, the league expanded its national media rights agreements to approximately $200 million annually, marking an increase of roughly $175 million per year compared to rights revenues prior to her arrival.
Total annual league revenue expanded tenfold under Engelbert, reaching nearly $400 million. Team valuations also rose dramatically across the league. In 2019, purchasing a WNBA franchise required around $15 million, whereas top team valuations now range between $250 million and $1 billion, according to estimates published by business news outlet Forbes.
Despite these financial successes, Engelbert faced criticism from players regarding player salaries, officiating standards, and travel safety. Furthermore, supporters of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark repeatedly criticized the league office, alleging that league leadership failed to protect the high-profile guard from physical fouls during games.
Gender Policy Debate and Political Challenges
In recent months, conservative commentators and political candidates have also attacked the WNBA over its gender inclusion policies and its refusal to explicitly prohibit transgender athletes assigned male at birth from league play. Much of this public criticism has been led by Royce White, a former professional NBA player and political candidate in Minnesota.
White, who lost a Republican congressional primary in 2022, a U.S. Senate general election in 2024, and another Republican Senate primary earlier this year, declared himself eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft. Working alongside fellow former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom, White stated that he intends to pressure the league into clarifying what he characterized as vague policies on gender participation.
Despite public declarations from White and Kanter Freedom, league sources have repeatedly confirmed to news organizations that both men remain completely ineligible to enter the draft or play in WNBA competition.
