How Craig Counsell reset the managerial salary landscape -- maybe forever

After Craig Counsell shocked the baseball universe by signing a record-setting $40 million deal to become the Chicago Cubs manager, the prevailing sentiment among the fraternity of managers and coaches who watched him jump from the Milwaukee Brewers to the North Side was: It's about damn time.

In the years ahead, we might look back at Counsell's lucrative foray into free agency as the first landmark in a managerial financial revolution, though it would be a long time in the making. There are already predictions in the industry that some managers won't be so quick to sign the team-friendly deals that have been commonplace over the past two decades, and instead will be more inclined to let their contracts expire and consider all offers, to build upon the effort they feel Counsell made for himself, and also for them.

This has been a conversation among a lot of managers in recent weeks. On Tuesday morning, one manager answered his phone, as if he had been waiting for the call, with one word: "Money."

"He has reset salaries for managers," said another of Counsell's peers. "This system we've had has been ridiculous."

It seems unlikely that any current manager will speak frankly, and publicly, out of concern over picking a fight with their front office bosses. A number, though, spoke on background in the aftermath of Counsell's deal and privately applauded the course he took, and outlined what it has revealed to the rest of them. "It was a great day for managers, because the Chicago Cubs showed what Craig Counsell's value is to their franchise, as the face of their franchise," said another of Counsell's brethren.

Said another: "Good for Craig. I don't understand why, when you look at other sports and what the [head] coaches are making, there has been a governor on salaries. ... You've got offensive coordinators making two or three times what managers are making."

For decades, managers from John McGraw to Earl Weaver held enormous power. At the height of Joe Torre's success with the Yankees, he reportedly earned $6.5 million annually. But at about the time that "Moneyball" was published in 2003 -- as front offices began wielding data and asserting more control over lineup and in-game decisions -- the perceived importance of the manager began to wane. In that transition, one high-ranking executive described the role of a manager as something closer to that of White House spokesperson: someone who publicly presented and explained choices effectively made by others in the building.

Though there is considerable murkiness around the salaries of managers and coaches -- two managers acknowledged Tuesday they aren't sure what a lot of their peers are paid -- the highest manager salaries have seemingly dipped. Bruce Bochy made $6 million annually at the end of his tenure with the San Francisco Giants; Terry Francona, who just retired with the Cleveland Guardians after 23 years as a manager, reportedly made $4.5 million annually -- or significantly less than Torre's salary. "The top numbers have gone from 6 to 4," said one staffer.

But a lot of first-year managers, like Mark Kotsay last year and Carlos Mendoza this winter, have signed for something in the range of $800,000 -- or less than just about any player on their roster. (The New York Mets haven't revealed what Mendoza will earn.) "I think the attitude of the front offices toward managers generally has been, 'There are very few of these jobs available, and you should feel lucky and grateful that you have one,'" one manager said Tuesday.

All of which helps explain why Counsell, considered by many to be the game's best manager, was offered $5.5 million by his former employer -- less than Torre made, despite 16 years of industry growth.

The problem with that "Moneyball" theory, one manager argued Tuesday, is that in this era, the job is more like chief executive officer -- for a period of almost eight months, he is the public face of a multibillion-dollar company who is asked to speak to the media twice a day, as well as overseeing the culture within the building and affecting day-to-day and inning-to-inning decisions.

"A lot of these front offices want to put a dollar value on everything in performance," he said. "Well, how do you put a dollar figure on a conversation with a slumping veteran after a game at midnight, because he's got something going on with his family that nobody knows about? How do you put a dollar figure on correctly handling some situation in the media -- when a player gets busted for PEDs, or there's a domestic violence investigation? If you don't handle it properly, you could do incredible damage to the company, to the brand."

"This is a job where you'll get better as you gain more experience. It's not like you're an aging pitcher who loses his fastball. The more you manage, the better you're able to handle situations."

That argument has been bolstered by recent postseason results. Over the past three seasons, championship managers have included the 66-year-old Brian Snitker, the 73-year-old Dusty Baker, and this year, 68-year-old Bruce Bochy. Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young coaxed Bochy out of retirement after last season, and in the aftermath of the Astros' sign-stealing scandal, Houston Astros owner Jim Crane brought in Dusty Baker. The only first-time, first-year manager to win a World Series in the past two decades was Alex Cora, with the Boston Red Sox in 2018. And yet a lot of teams have preferred managers with no little to no experience, at a lower cost.

But Counsell's deal could be a turning point, not only in how he raised the bar for what an accomplished manager is being paid, but also in how his negotiation played out. As a player, Counsell was part of the union leadership, serving first as a team representative in 2002 and then on the executive subcommittee from 2004-2011. Presumably, he is aware of the lessons that the late Players Association chief Marvin Miller gave to players about the value of knowledge -- how knowing more about the sport's financial context would serve them well. For decades, players were generally unaware of how much their peers were paid, often leaving them at the mercy of the goodwill of owners. It wasn't until the advent of free agency in the '70s, fueled by strategic leaks of agents and union officials, that players began to get a clearer sense of their market value -- and salaries spiraled upward.

Counsell had told colleagues that he wanted to test the market, to wait for the expiration of his contract in order to receive bids -- and he drew interest from the Mets and Guardians, as well as the Brewers and Cubs. There is now a market rate for experience, with the Cubs outbidding the Brewers significantly.

Mark Attanasio, the owner of the Brewers, was shocked by the outcome. "We're all here today because we lost Craig," he told reporters, "But I've reflected on this -- Craig has lost us and he's lost our community, also. It's really a special place to be."