The Chicago Cubs are cruising toward the best record in baseball in 2016. One of the lesser-reported stories, nationally, this season was that club president Theo Epstein's contract was expiring at the conclusion of the season, though.

No more, as the Cubs have announced that Epstein and ownership have agreed to a five-year contract extension, running through the 2021 season.

It's not like this was ever in doubt, of course. All season, any time either Epstein or principle owner Tom Ricketts were asked about a possible extension, the company line was basically, "don't worry, it'll get done at some point." Sure enough, it's now done before the postseason.

"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," Ricketts said in a statement, adding that this deal "ensures the baseball operations team assembled by Epstein will continue its remarkable tenure of building a consistent championship contender."

"Both on the baseball and business sides, I believe we have the best leadership in the league and we are well positioned for sustained success," added Ricketts.

Speaking of the leadership, it's apparently not just Epstein that Ricketts has in mind. General manager Jed Hoyer and vice president of player development Jason McLeod have been the inner circle of Epstein's brain trust in Chicago and there's this report:

Under the Epstein-Hoyer-McLeod regime, the Cubs went through a rebuilding phase, losing 101 games in 2012 and 96 in 2013 before the returns started to show with a 73-89 season in 2014. Then the Cubs won 97 games and advanced to the NLCS last season and now they are 101-56 and the favorites to take the World Series.

Not only that, but the most of the nucleus is young and under control for years to come. Jake Arrieta and John Lackey are only signed through next season while Jon Lester will surely hit age-related decline in a few years. Ben Zobrist doesn't have many good years left, either, but otherwise the key players are young and locked up for a while. They even went without big-time slugger Kyle Schwarber this season.

So how much is Epstein worth? Here's one report:

That might sound huge, but it's money that mid-level starting pitchers get these days. Given what Epstein has built in Chicago, he's definitely worth that. If the Cubs win the World Series, you could probably even argue that he's underpaid.