Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein's contract extension reportedly will pay him $10M annually, but he will "still make less in annual salary" than 115 MLBers, evidence that the best baseball execs "continue to be an extremely undervalued asset in the sport," according to Buster Olney of ESPN.com. But the gap between "what the best executives are paid and what they probably should be paid is narrowing" following Epstein's first contract with the Cubs in '11 and Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman pushing the "salary numbers higher" with the deal he signed in '14. Epstein's latest contract "becomes the new benchmark." The Cubs are demonstrating "how the earning potential for a superlative executive, in the right market, can dwarf that" of most players. It is likely the salary escalation of "proven, elite executives will continue to climb upward." The contract of Yankees Senior VP & GM Brian Cashman runs through next season, and if the Steinbrenner family "passes on paying him more, based on the newly defined Epstein curve, there probably would be some beleaguered owners somewhere willing to bid aggressively" (ESPN.com, 9/29).
GIVING CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE: ESPN's Dan Le Batard said he is "perpetually frustrated" about the lack of attention paid to front office execs compared to how fans "celebrate the middle managers, the coaches, the guy on the sidelines." Le Batard: "The architects are more important, they’re more valuable. What they do matters more and they’re less famous." He called Epstein one of the "great architects in the history of all of sports." Le Batard: "The idea that he could fix both the Red Sox after all that losing and the Cubs after a century of losing is unbelievable. ... He could be as highly paid as anyone in any front office and I would not object.” ESPN’s Bomani Jones said Epstein “demonstrated himself to be the curse-breaker" with the Red Sox, but "life did kind of go on" after he left Boston. Jones: "Theo Epstein is great at this job, but he’s not the only one who’s figured how to do this. But if somebody did want to pay him $10 million a year, I can't say I wouldn't understand” (“Highly Questionable,” ESPN, 9/29). CBS Sports Network's Adam Schein said Epstein is "worth every single penny," as he is "one of the all-time great execs.” Schein: “The Chicago Cubs right now -- they are a perfect organization, and when was the last time you could say that?” (“Time to Schein,” CBS Sports Network, 9/29).
TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECT? ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted NFL owners "are going to hate" Epstein's new contract, though NFL GMs are "going to love this.” The five-year, $50M deal is "way more than any football executive is making at this point in time." Schefter: "There will be some people out there in the football world -- a sport that produces more revenue -- that say, ‘Why is there not a football GM out there that makes this kind of money?’" ESPN’s Adam Caplan noted there are coaches “making not quite $10 million, just under that, but the fact of the matter is the guys who put it all together, how could they not be making at least half of that?” Schefter: “Increasingly over the last few years, somehow somewhere along the way, the pressure and scrutiny that was always on head coaches to win, now is on general managers. So they’re getting the pressure but they are not getting the pay” (“NFL Insiders,” ESPN2, 9/29).
