Chicago Cubs Attach $1 Buy-Back Strings To World Series Rings; Fair Or Foul?

CHICAGO, IL — Winning the World Series last year was a team effort for the Chicago Cubs that didn't just involve the players on the field. It included everyone from the front office management who helped scout and sign the talent to the Wrigley Field concession workers slinging beer and peanuts to fans in the stands. That's the perspective Cubs' ownership has, which is why it bought championship rings for nearly 2,000 of the organization's employees.

SIGN UP: Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Lake View and Chicago — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.

But that World Series hardware comes with strings attached. The Cubs are requiring non-players receiving rings to sign an agreement that gives the team the right to buy back the title jewelry for $1, according to ESPN. Team officials say the reason behind the extra paperwork is so secondary and collectors' markets aren't flooded with people selling their rings, devaluing them for everyone, the report stated.

"Why did we do this? We don't want rings, 30 days after they receive them, to [have owners] start putting them out on eBay, which reduces the value of what we think is one of the most coveted rings in sports," Cubs spokesman Julian Green told the Chicago Tribune.

Under the agreement, anyone owning one of the World Series rings must tell the Cubs about the details of a potential sale and give the team the right of first refusal to buy it back for a buck. If the Cubs pass, the owner can sell the ring under the terms originally disclosed. The rings can be given as gifts, however, but the new owners must adhere to the $1 buy-back stipulation, according to ESPN.

Although players and coaches don't have to sign the agreement to receive their rings, that doesn't mean all the big names on the team are exempt. The Cubs asked for — and received — the John Hancocks of general manager Jed Hoyer and President and all-around baseball genius Theo Epstein so they could wear that World Series bling.

RELATED: Relive the Chicago Cubs' Banner Ceremony During The Home Opener

"I signed that thing willingly," Hoyer told ESPN. "Everyone except for the players signed it. I look at it as the Ricketts [the family that owns the team] were so unbelievably generous in the cost of the ring and the number they gave out, I think it's totally appropriate when you're paying for the ring and helping out with the taxes along with that — it seems appropriate to say, 'I don't expect you to take the gift I'm giving you and run out to the market with it'."

The Cubs handed out 1,908 World Series rings and pins from Jostens Inc., to employees throughout the organization, with different tiers of jewelry for different employees. For instance, players and coaches received the extravagant ring encrusted with 108 rubies, sapphires and diamonds reprsenting the 108 years since the Cubs won its last World Series. Other employees won't be receiving such a high-end gift. But while the players will be paying their own taxes on the rings, the Cubs will pick up the federal government's tab for many of the lower-level members of the organization, ESPN reports.

But there are critics of how the team is handling its role as lord of the rings with the $1 buy-back requirement. A Cubs exec told ESPN he thought the policy was unfair to an employee who might need the money the sale of a ring could generate in order to buy food or other essentials.

YOUR TURN: Is it OK for the Chicago Cubs to require employees to sign a $1 buy-back agreement in order to receive a World Series ring? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section. Plus, take Patch's poll on the topic.

More via ESPN

Chicago Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer displays his World Series ring during the team's ceremony April 12. (photo by Jonathan Daniel | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images)

Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!

• Like our Crime page on Facebook
• Check out the Events Calendar for what’s going on