MLB owners give new commish Rob Manfred a five-year contract

Mike Oz
Rob Manfred takes over as MLB commissioner on Jan. 25. (USA TODAY Sports)
Rob Manfred takes over as MLB commissioner on Jan. 25. (USA TODAY Sports)

The Rob Manfred era is almost upon us, and MLB owners agreed Thursday that the league's new commissioner will get a five-year contract as he begins his job.

Manfred takes over for Bud Selig on Jan. 25, but before that happens there was a little issue of his contract, which was decided at the two-day owners' meetings in Kansas City, Mo.

Manfred's five-year contract — two more than the minimum three-year deal a commissioner can get — was unanimously approved.

His contract vote was handled "quickly and quietly," according to Eric Fisher of Sports Business Journal. That's in contrast to Manfred's election, which took longer and was more contentious, as a segment of owners led by Jerry Reinsdorf of the Chicago White Sox didn't back Manfred. He received the exact number of votes needed for the job: 23.

Manfred has been Selig's right-hand man since 1998, serving as MLB's executive vice president of labor relations and human resources. Among the issues that loom as Manfred takes office are tweaks to the new video replay system, improving the pace of the game and growing MLB internationally.

Replay and pace-of-game issues were discussed at the meetings. They'll be topics again in January at the next owners' meeting, which is the final one that Selig will lead as commissioner.

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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!