MLB commissioner Ron Manfred has held the position since 2015, overseeing America’s Pastime for a decade now. With his contract expiring in 2029 and Manfred headed for retirement, teams are reportedly eyeing a potential successor from the ownership ranks.
Manfred took over for Bud Selig, who held the position of MLB commissioner from 1998-2015 as the successor to Francis T. Vincent Jr. Selig’s replacement came from the legal side, with Manfred first serving as outside counsel during the sport’s 1994-’95 player strike and then working up the ranks to chief operating office before the start of the 2014 season.
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- Rob Manfred salary: $17.5 million
MLB team owners chose Manfred over Boston Red Sox chairman Tom Werner and MLB’s executive vice president of business Tim Brosnan. As noted by ESPN.com, it was the first contested vote for an MLB commissioner since Bowie Kent Kuhn won the vote in 1969.
While club owners have several years before deciding who they want representing them as the next commissioner of baseball, multiple candidates have emerged to succeed Manfred. One of them who has some momentum right now comes from the ownership ranks.
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According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio will reportedly have the backing of several of his peers to succeed Manfred as MLB commissioner in 2029.
Attanasio, age 67, is a New York City native who made his money in finance as the co-founder of the investment firm Crescent Capital Group which was sold to the Trusy Company of the West in 1996. He later was the head of an investment group that bought the Brewers from Selig’s family for $223 million in 2005.
- Mark Attanasio net worth: $700 million
Several owners evidently want to go back to the process that got them Selig, who held the position from 1998-2015 and was well-regarded by club owners. Selig had previously served as a minority stakeholder in the Brewers, then later taking full control of the club.
Other candidates to succeed Manfred will likely come from within the league office, with vice president of business operations Morgan Sword and deputy commissioner Dan Halem among the names under consideration. Whoever replaces Manfred will take on the responsibility of catering to how owners want to shape the game, while also likely following through on some of Manfred’s long-term ambitions for MLB.
