Come To Think Of It: Consider Donald Fehr's Parting Gift Protection Money

ESPN’s Amy K. Nelson reports that the departing head of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Donald Fehr, will receive an $11 million dollar severance package from the players.                                   

Fehr has been in charge of the player’s union for 26 years, and during his tenure has protected the players as salaries have skyrocketed and player’s physiques have exploded.

In essence, this is good old fashioned payola in return for Fehr continuing to insist that neither he, nor major league baseball, knew about the steroid epidemic and that the player’s strike in 1994 was not their fault.

To the players, he has been worth his weight in gold. Annual salaries have jumped from an average of $289,000 in 1983 to the present $3,240,206. When you compare his $1 million annual salary with the horrendous boatload of money Commissioner Bud Selig makes ($18 million), the compensation package looks reasonable.

Curtis Granderson , a member of the union's subcommittee, said that it was an easy decision to make. "I think without a doubt there was no hesitation," Granderson said. "We kept looking at how much Bud Selig makes and we looked at how much Don Fehr hasn't made."

It is unclear as to when Michael Weiner will assume his responsibilities. But he will be the one to preside over the next labor contract negotiations in two years.

Perhaps ESPN’s Howard Bryant summed up Fehr’s reputation as a fearless and staunch players advocate best when he wrote:

“For roughly 11 hours on March 17, 2005, members of the House Government Reform Committee savaged Fehr and the union, essentially blaming his leadership for the steroids crisis in the sport.

Selig wilted under his own barrage of criticism from the congressmen and Rob Manfred, then baseball's legal counsel, lost his cool on national television, but Fehr— under the most pressure—held his ground, providing testimony regarding the decisions that shaped the union's thinking about the steroids issue. Even his detractors called it remarkable.”

Fehr refused to romance the sport of baseball, preferring to remind everyone that it is a business. He does not look upon the steroids era as a stain or a blemish. In fact, he coldly views it as just another manipulation to increase offense in the game.

In that regard, he probably should have considered the effect on player’s reputations. While Fehr and Selig have had some arduous moments over the years, they acted in concert on this front. Both turned a blind eye to the eyesore that has tarnished baseball’s sacred records.

In the public eye, and to writers such as me, Fehr is no hero. But the players certainly owe him a debt of gratitude. Consider that paid in full, come to think of it.