Latest report makes the Tony Vitello decision even tougher to swallow but easier to understand

It’s a tough decision for Tennessee baseball fans, but the numbers seem to hint at a reason why.

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Hannah Mattix/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee Vol fans were hit with some rough news on Wednesday when it was revealed by multiple outlets that Tony Vitello is finalizing a deal to become the San Francisco Giants’ next manager.

The length of time that it took for Vitello to make a decision (going past 72 hours is a long time in the MLB world) and the fact that Vitello continued to stay with his team and practice gave growing hope to Tennessee fans – some of whom showed up at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Tuesday to show their support for Vitello and the program – that perhaps Tony was considering ultimately saying no thanks and staying.

As it turns out, the decision is even more head scratching based on compensation. According to USA Today MLB writer Bob Nightengale, Vitello is actually taking a pay cut from what he was making at Tennessee to make the jump to the Giants.

Tony Vitello allegedly taking a pay cut to leave Tennessee for San Francisco

It’s tough to see a coach leave for a lesser opportunity financially, but it’s not a shocker that Vitello isn’t getting paid a huge sum as far as professional coaches/managers go. After all, managers in Major League Baseball typically get paid a very modest sum in comparison to the Gross Domestic Products that the sport’s stars seem to make. The top managers are paid around $8 million a year, namely Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and the Chicago Cubs’ Craig Counsell. By comparison, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid makes around $20 million per year, and Georgia’s Kirby Smart gets $13 million annually. And Vitello will be joining the professional ranks with no experience to call on to warrant significant compensation.

But if he indeed did leave for less money, then that tells a pretty apparent truth for Tennessee. It very likely means this was simply a dream opportunity that he couldn’t pass up, and that’s not something that even money was able to save. And the much higher cost of living in the Bay Area than East Tennessee is going to exacerbate that pay cut even further.

At the end of the day, Vitello’s decision under these circumstances just speaks to how much he wanted to pursue that opportunity. Sometimes, on rare occasion, it’s just not about the almighty dollar.

UPDATE: Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel offers a conflicting report to Nightengale, saying Vitello’s deal with the Giants will not be for less money.

That being said, unless the deal is for substantially more money, given the cost of living factors, then it’s still hard to see money being a driving factor for that deal.

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