A few weeks ago, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred implied in front of the media that owning a major league franchise wasn’t as profitable as people probably thought.
Rob Manfred says owning an MLB team is not as profitable as investing in the stock market: pic.twitter.com/nY8gX6dGWF
— SNY (@SNYtv) February 10, 2022
Not many people believed him, but we all just moved on with our lives.
However, in the last few hours, a couple of reporters found out the truth about the matter.
Are MLB franchises profitable or not?
We all thought they were…and they are.
Owners make a lot of money.
ESPN insider Jeff Passan tweeted: “Do not believe the lie that baseball teams are not extremely profitable ventures. They are. And the financials of the Atlanta Braves, as @EricFisherSBG noted, illustrate that. A $104 million profit in 2021. A $6 million-per-game revenue stream. As a business, baseball is superb.”
Do not believe the lie that baseball teams are not extremely profitable ventures. They are. And the financials of the Atlanta Braves, as @EricFisherSBG noted, illustrate that. A $104 million profit in 2021. A $6 million-per-game revenue stream. As a business, baseball is superb. pic.twitter.com/OXlMCdOKNn
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 25, 2022
Well, there you go: Manfred, and owners, are blatantly lying when they say they don’t make nearly enough money as people think.
To think that, knowing how much they make and how much players make, they are still willing to put a halt on baseball and fight over a few more dollars is mind-blowing.
More Incredible Numbers
Fisher published more specific numbers: “Liberty Media-owned Atlanta Braves report $568 million in revenue for 2021, $20 million in operating income, big shift from pandemic-impacted 2020 totals of $178 million in rev, $128 million operating loss. Adjusted OIBDA swings fr $53 million loss ’20 to $104 million gain in ’21.”
Liberty Media-owned Atlanta Braves report $568 million in revenue for 2021, $20 million in operating income, big shift from pandemic-impacted 2020 totals of $178 million in rev, $128 million operating loss. Adjusted OIBDA swings fr $53 million loss '20 to $104 million gain in '21
— Eric Fisher (@EricFisherSBG) February 25, 2022
The next time you find someone side with the owners in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) talks, show him/her this information.
Everybody is entitled to have their own opinions, but fighting against facts becomes a lot harder when confronted with a reality: owners are being greedy, and players are protecting their own interests.
Remember that around 60 percent of the player universe in MLB is set to make the league minimum in 2022.
Not every contract is as big as Max Scherzer‘s or Gerrit Cole‘s.
NEXT: Josh Tomlin Is The Owner Of A Rough MLB Stat
Jon Ramos says
The article should indicate each baseball team and how much profit they make for the last four years.
Anonymous says
Thats right, how about Kansas City or Seatle
JohnG says
Are we supposed to be in awe that 60% of MLB players are making the minimum $10, 577.00 per week (52 weeks). Still feel bad?
the Mendoza line says
They only work 1/2 of the year, it’s over $21.,000 per week.
JKeasy44 says
This feels a lot like cherry picking as I can’t imagine every team who didn’t win the World Series nor are as popular as the Braves (who are often called America’s team) made that much money. That’s like talking to the CEO of a company and then proclaiming everyone in that company is making money, don’t let anyone else working there lie about it!
Christian says
Forbes does an annual MLB financial report on all. usually 1/3 to 1/2 of the 30 teams lose money. Organizations bring in a lot of revenue, especially the large markets, but they spend a fortune as well, Running a sports franchise is not cheap. There are many expenses to run any business.