Major League Baseball’s owners will vote next week to determine whether to keep Rob Manfred as commissioner, report Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic. There’s little intrigue expected with the outcome, as one person told The Athletic it’s “a foregone conclusion” Manfred will be re-elected.
That’s no surprise. The last time Manfred’s job was up for debate — over the 2018-19 offseason — he was unanimously approved for a five-year extension. Manfred will only need to secure a simple majority for an extension, with 16 of the 30 ownership representatives approving. He’ll almost certainly get that and could have a chance at another unanimous vote.
The terms of a new extension aren’t clear. Manfred’s current deal runs through 2024. If he’s re-upped for another five years, that’d take him through the ’29 campaign.
Within the past few seasons, MLB and the Players Association were at odds both regarding the return-to-play measures during the 2020 pandemic peak and saw the first official work stoppage in more than two decades with the 2021-22 lockout. MLB revenues reportedly bounced back above pre-pandemic levels once the CBA was hammered out last spring, however. Manfred told Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times towards the end of last season that league revenues were approaching a record $11 billion for 2022. Manfred first took over as commissioner in November 2014.
