Cubs Sign Theo Epstein To 5-Year Contract Extension

If you were worried about this, worry no more!

#Cubs to announce 5 year contract extension for Theo

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) September 28, 2016

Ricketts and Theo will be in Pittsburgh to announce. #Cubs

— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) September 28, 2016

Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein signed a five-year, $18 million deal with the team in October 2011.

Thus his contract was due to be up at the end of this year, and there was some concern about signing him to an extension -- given the excellent job he's done putting this powerhouse team together.

Fret no more, because, as tweeted by Carrie Muskat, Theo, and presumably, his entire baseball operations team, will be together on the North Side through the 2021 season. At that time Theo will be 48 years old. It's conceivable, if the Cubs have won a few World Series between now and then (hopefully, starting this year!), Theo could ride off into the proverbial sunset and retire from baseball, his Hall of Fame ticket punched.

There have been no terms announced for this deal, but you can probably assume Theo's getting a big raise from his initial contract signed five years ago.

Quote from Tom Ricketts via Cubs press release:

"In the five years under Theo’s leadership, he has brought in a strong executive team and acquired and developed some of the best players in the game. Now, the results are on the field. My family and I have no doubt that we have moved closer to our goal of delivering Cubs fans the World Series Championship they deserve," Ricketts said, adding that the contract "ensures the baseball operations team assembled by Epstein will continue its remarkable tenure of building a consistent championship contender."

"Both on the baseball and business sides, I believe we have the best leadership in the league and we are well positioned for sustained success," said Ricketts.

Thank you, Tom. And thank you, Theo.