In late 2011, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein opted for a new challenge, moving from Boston to Chicago, where he would guide the Cubs to a historic World Series championship in 2016.
The decision was high profile and splashy. Epstein had already broken a curse in Boston, guiding the Red Sox to two World Series titles. By most metrics, he was one of the best young executives in the game. In other ways, the move was a simple baseball maneuver, a successful general manager lured from one big-market franchise to another.
Yet there was one catch: Epstein, then 37, still had one year on his contract in Boston, which meant the Red Sox would not allow him to leave without receiving compensation from the Cubs.