Amid rumors of firing, Omaha signs Richardson to an extension to make him among highest paid .(43.07)

[niles08]

When Omaha announced their surprise press conference the other day which wound up being a rebranding announcement, there were immediate rumors that Quentin Richardson had been relieved of his duties as the Omaha manager.

Not only where those rumors obviously false. But Omaha GM Justin Niles went as far in his rebranding announcement to take a question on it and brought up that Richardson and the team had actually been negotiating an extension since he was entering the final year of his deal.

Today, that extension was announced.

Richardson will make $1,784,000 beginning in 2044 as the Manager of the Hawks and will make that through 2047 as the extension is a 4-year deal. This is a raise of over $500,000 annually for Richardson, who has been with the club since the beginning.

This deal makes Richardson the third highest-paid manager in the BBA only behind Lothar Platzdasch in Jacksonville who is making $2,298,000 and Anthony Light in Valencia who will bring home $1,852,000 annually. Platszasch has been in Jacksonville since 2029, making the playoffs every season before the 2041 season. He also has 3 Landis Memorial Series rings to his name. In Valencia, Light does have a Landis ring, but it’s just with Long Beach in 2029. He has been with Valencia since 2037, making the playoffs twice in 6 attempts.

Compare those with Richardson who has made the playoffs 5 times in 9 tries since taking over the help in Omaha as the manager in 2034. Richardson may be making the big money that the other two are, however, he may be missing the ring that goes on his finger to justify it.

In smaller news, the club also announced that hitting coach Gary Ritter also had signed a 3-year extension that will pay him $230,000 annually through 2046. 2042 was Ritter’s first season in Omaha after spending the prior seasons in Vancouver and Phoenix. Omaha’s batting average dropped from .259 to .255 from 2041 to 2042, as did their BABIP from .312 to .289.