The best pitcher on the 1908 Cubs was Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown. He was paid $3,500 for his efforts. The government's inflation index doesn't even go back that far (it starts in 1913) so it's impossible to say what that salary specifically was equal to in today's dollars, but it was likely between the equivalent of $50,000 to $75,000 today.

Of that team's five top starters, none had an ERA over 2.27. Despite their great pitching, the 2016 Cubs only had one starter under 2.27 - Kyle Hendricks and his 2.16 ERA.