MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred will retire when his current term ends in January 2029, he announced Thursday.
Manfred took over for outgoing commissioner Bud Selig in 2015 and led the league through a labor negotiation the following year. That CBA secured labor peace in baseball through the 2021 season. Manfred’s second CBA negotiation resulted in a lockout that stretched from December 2021 to March 2022, though the league ultimately avoided a shortened season. The commissioner will lead the league through one more labor negotiation when the current CBA expires in 2026.
As for media rights, Major League Baseball is currently under contract with FOX, ESPN, TBS, and Apple TV+ through 2028 — meaning one of Manfred’s final duties as commissioner will be to help navigate the league through a new landscape for national media rights. Recently, MLB has struggled to maintain a robust national schedule, with ESPN slimming its baseball package to just one night a week in recent years.
Of course, Manfred’s most immediate issues stem from the struggling RSN model. With Amazon’s recent deal with Diamond Sports that will see Prime Video as the streaming home of Bally Sports affiliates, the league at least has certainty for the upcoming season. However, with the termination of those local rights following the 2024 season, nearly half of MLB teams will have to negotiate new deals for 2025.
The MLB commissioner is the third “Big Four” commissioner in a span of five months to announce their future intentions. The NFL’s Roger Goodell received a three-year extension last October; the NBA’s Adam Silver was extended through the end of the decade last month.
Manfred, 65, will be 70 when his term ends in 2029. In his announcement Thursday he said, “You can only have so much fun in one lifetime.”
