A New Era of High-Paying Baseball Managers in Korea
The landscape of Korean professional baseball is witnessing a significant shift as managers’ annual salaries begin to surpass 1 billion won. This trend marks a new era for the sport, where managerial roles are gaining unprecedented financial recognition.
LG announced on the 9th that they have re-contracted with Yeom Kyungyup (57), their manager, for three years with a maximum total of 3 billion won. The deal includes a signing bonus of 700 million won, a total base salary of 2.1 billion won, and options worth 200 million won. This contract is the largest in KBO League history, breaking the previous record set by Kim Taehyung, the current Lotte manager, who re-signed with Doosan in October 2019 for three years and 2.8 billion won (930 million won annually) after six years.
While the Korean professional baseball FA market has seen 14 mega-contracts exceeding 10 billion won, the pace of salary increases for managers has been slower. As a player, Kim Taegyun became the first in the KBO League to surpass 1 billion won in annual salary in December 2011, signing a 1.5 billion won contract upon returning to Hanwha from Japan. It took 14 years for Yeom Kyungyup to become the first manager to earn an annual salary of 1 billion won.
The first Korean professional baseball manager to achieve an annual salary of 100 million won was Baek Incheon of Samsung in 1995. After Kim Sunggeun signed a three-year, 2 billion won contract with SK (now SSG) in November 2008, marking the highest treatment at the time, managers such as Ryu Jungil (Samsung·LG), Kim Kyungmun (NC·Hanwha), Kim Taehyung (Doosan), and Kim Gitae (KIA) followed with three-year, 2 billion won-scale contracts. Lee Beomho, the KIA manager who led last year’s unified championship, recontracted for three years and 2.6 billion won with a “championship premium.”
Manager Salaries in Football vs. Baseball
In football, salaries for players and managers are typically not disclosed, unlike baseball. In the K League, Guus Poot (58, Uruguay), who led Jeonbuk to this season’s championship, is reported to earn the highest salary at 1 million dollars (approximately 1.5 billion won). Among domestic coaches, Kim Gitae, the Seoul manager, is estimated to earn 1.1 billion won.
The world’s highest-paid manager is Diego Simeone (55, Argentina), who has led Atlético Madrid for 15 years. Simeone, who built a “Spanish three-power system” alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona while commanding Atlético, earns an estimated 25.9 million pounds (approximately 49.8 billion won). Among Atlético players, star goalkeeper Jan Oblak earns 20.83 million euros (35.1 billion won), meaning Simeone’s salary is approximately 1.4 times higher than Oblak’s.
While some star managers command astronomical salaries, the disparity among football managers is significant. In contrast, American professional sports have higher average managerial salaries. Particularly in the NFL (National Football League), the most popular sport in the U.S., the average managerial salary ranges from 8 billion to 9 billion won. Andy Reid (67), the Kansas City Chiefs manager who achieved three Super Bowl victories, earns 20 million dollars (approximately 29.2 billion won) annually, making him the highest-paid manager in U.S. sports.
Manager Salaries in Basketball and Baseball
The NBA (National Basketball Association) also boasts managers with high salaries. Steve Kerr (60), the Golden State Warriors manager who has led the team to four NBA championships, earns 17.5 million dollars (approximately 25.5 billion won). However, considering that Warriors superstar Stephen Curry earned 59.6 million dollars (approximately 86.9 billion won) in salary alone this season, the gap between top-tier players and managers remains substantial.
The highest-paid manager in MLB (Major League Baseball) is Dave Roberts (53), who led the LA Dodgers to consecutive World Series titles. However, his salary of 8.1 million dollars (approximately 11.9 billion won) is less than half of Kerr’s. Kevin Cash (48), the Tampa Bay Rays manager who won the American League Manager of the Year Award twice, earns only 2.4 billion won.
Comparative Analysis of Managerial Roles
USA Today and other foreign media reported, “In European football and the NFL and NBA, head coaches are like CEOs who establish the team’s vision and philosophy and lead the players, whereas in MLB, the role of the front office, such as the general manager who utilizes numbers and data, is more prominent, relatively lowering the manager’s value.” They added, “Amid this trend, MLB is increasingly inclined to hire less experienced managers at lower salaries.”