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Cubs sign Epstein to lucrative 5-year extension

Kyle Terada / USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have locked up their architect, as the team announced Wednesday that president Theo Epstein has been signed to a five-year contract extension.

The deal could pay Epstein in excess of $50 million, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

"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," Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement. He went on to add that the extension "ensures the baseball operations team assembled by Epstein will continue its remarkable tenure of building a consistent championship contender."

Epstein joined the Cubs in 2011 after spending nine years as GM of the Boston Red Sox. In the 42-year-old's first season on the job, the Cubs lost 101 games. Since then, Epstein has overseen a total rebuild of the team's farm system that's helped Chicago steadily increase its record with the help of a cadre of young stars. It's all culminated in a 2016 season that's seen the Cubs run away with baseball's best record while reaching the 100-win mark for the first time since 1935.

Ricketts told reporters that the team initially planned to announce Epstein's deal Sunday, but decided to wait until Wednesday after the death of Miami Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez.

General manager Jed Hoyer and senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod also received five-year extensions, according to multiple reports.

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