Rob Manfred Says His Run as MLB Commissioner Will End in 2029 After 5-Year Contract

Rob Manfred, who has served as MLB commissioner since 2015, will step down in January 2029.

"This is going to be my last term," Manfred told reporters Thursday.

Manfred said he informed team owners about the news before they voted in July to grant him a third five-year term as the head of the league.

"I'm 65," Manfred said. "I just started a five-year term. Do that math, that makes me 70 years old. You can only have so much fun in one lifetime. I have been open with them about the fact that this is going to be my last term."

Manfred has held full-time executive positions in the MLB since 1998. By his retirement he is set to be one of just three commissioners to have held the position for at least 14 years.

As commissioner, Manfred has overseen controversies including a 2021 lockout that marked the league's first work stoppage in 26 years, the elimination of more than 40 minor league teams, a cheating scandal that tarnished the 2017 World Series and ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Oakland Athletics.

But as The Athletic's Evan Drellich put it, Manfred's moves like minor league cuts "stirred plenty of outrage from the public, but notably, not his bosses, the owners."

Data released by the MLB in October showed new rules, including a pitch timer, made an average MLB game the shortest it's been in almost 40 years, while drawing in more than 70 million attendees for the first time since 2017.

Those upward trends, which were already visible when the owners voted on Manfred's re-election, were enough to buy him five more years at the helm.

Starting in 2029, however, the MLB is set to enter its next era under a new leader.

"I'm sure the selection process is going to look like it looked the last time," Manfred said. "There'll be a committee of owners that'll be put together, and they'll identify candidates, be an interview process and ultimately someone, or a slate of people, will be put forward."

One possible candidate who might be considered in 2029 is Theo Epstein, former Boston Red Sox manager and current member of the team's ownership group. In a 2021 poll by The Athletic, 14 of 23 surveyed player agents named Epstein as the person they would like to see take the role.