Disney boss Bob Iger is firmly in Major League Baseball’s potential lineup of new commissioner candidates, according to sources.
The Disney chairman and CEO — who oversees ABC and ESPN as part of his role — is a favorite of the league’s succession committee, sources say, which is trying to find a replacement for Bud Selig before he steps down at the end of his contract Jan. 24.
We’re told one sticking point in appointing Iger is that his contract with Disney lasts until the middle of 2016. He has indicated that he’ll move on from the media conglomerate after that.
A source told Page Six, “MLB has expressed an enormous amount of interest in Iger as a potential candidate. But he is still contracted at Disney for another two years, and no official talks have taken place. He definitely hasn’t been offered the job — yet.” The source added of any conflict with Iger’s Disney contract: “Perhaps they will keep the post open for him, or maybe Bud might agree to stay on. It’s too early to say.”
Candidates will be nominated by the MLB committee and then voted on by league owners, with 24 of 30 votes needed to get the job.
Sports Illustrated suggested this month that high-profile possibilities like Joe Torre, Bob Costas, George F. Will and Dick Ebersol are unrealistic because of their age or lack of interest in the gig. Other potential candidates include MLB execs such as COO Rob Manfred as well as Dodgers owner Stan Kasten and Phillies GM Rubén Amaro Jr.
Baseball’s most famous commissioners have included federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, lawyer-turned-commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Yale president (and father of Paul Giamatti) A. Bartlett Giamatti and Peter Ueberroth.
Iger began his career at ABC in 1974 and rose to president of Disney by 1999. As CEO since 2005, he’s been involved in blockbuster acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. He said last year he’d remain as chairman and CEO till 2016 — one year longer than was previously planned. Disney had no comment. MLB didn’t get back to us.