Derek Jeter will reportedly forgo $5 million salary from the Marlins during coronavirus shutdown
Major League Baseball is shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, and many teams are making adjustments as the fate of their season remains unknown. One adjustment is being made by former Yankees star and current Marlins CEO Derek Jeter, who will forego his salary during the shutdown, according to Miami-area baseball reporter Craig Mish.
Jeter's salary with the Marlins is $5 million a year, according to multiple reports. Before buying the team in 2017, Jeter played for the Yankees his entire professional career, and made $265 million between 1995 and 2014, CBS Sports reports.
According to Mish, other members of the Marlin's executive team have taken pay cuts, too.
Many teams will take a hit this year, even if the league creates a shortened season, due to lost revenue from the ballparks and other challenges presented. According to CBS Sports, MLB teams will be allowed to furlough employees or reduce their pay beginning in May.
Jeter isn't the only CEO in the U.S. to give up his salary to help his organization stay afloat during these unprecedented times. At Disney, chairman Bob Iger said he would forgo his salary during this time and CEO Bob Chapek said he would take a 50% salary cut.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian also said he would give up his salary for the rest of the year. Kent Taylor, the CEO of Texas Roadhouse restaurants, announced he would give up his salary and bonus from March 18 through January 7, 2021, CBS Austin reports.
The MLB is also not the only sports league to make adjustments in an effort to financially survive this pandemic. While NBA games are suspended, the league is proposing that players take a 50 percent pay cut, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
The NBA first asked for the pay cut to go into effect on April 15, but the National Basketball Players Association countered with a 25 percent pay cut that would begin in mid-May, according to Charania. It is unclear if the league and player's association came to an agreement, but Charania reported the players were set to receive their full paychecks on April 15, according to CBS Sports.
As far as MLB players' salaries are concerned, the MLB and the players' union agreed to a $170 million advance in March, CBS Sports reports. The payout, provided by all 30 teams, will cover the first 60 days of what would've been the regular season, according to the Associated Press.