MLB Commissioner Bud Selig is poised to sign a two-year contract extension this week at the owners' meetings in Arizona, according to industry sources. First reported by ESPN, the new deal will keep Selig as baseball's top exec through '14. Selig first became interim commissioner in '92, and removed the interim tag six years later. With a total of 22 years as running the game, Selig will only trail Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who served 24 years, in longevity among MLB Commissioners.
Selig had repeatedly insisted he planned to retire at the end of his current three-year contract in December, similar to statements toward the end of prior contracts. Over the past year, he had grown even more strident in his expressed desire to expand his teaching at the Univ. of Wisconsin and Marquette Univ. and write, going so far as to outfit a new office last year in Madison. But after a highly successful '11 that included record revenue, a new labor deal and improved World Series TV ratings, owners were loath to let him retire. Selig also remains in excellent health for his age, and still maintains a workout streak of more than 1,000 consecutive days.
Selig is believed to receive more than $22M in annual compensation in his current deal. The last publicly available figure for Selig, for the fiscal year ended Oct. 31, 2007, showed $18.35M in total pay, easily the highest among any commissioner of a U.S. pro sports property. The Selig contract issue, as of now, has not been officially noticed for the owners' meeting agenda, league sources said, but can still be added.
