Following a lockout that lasted more than three months this winter, Major League Baseball play resumed with a new collective bargaining agreement and expectations for both higher franchise revenues and player compensation. Increased revenue stands to come from two primary sources: (1) expanding the playoffs by adding a sixth team to each league’s postseason action and replacing the single-elimination wildcard game with a best of three series and (2) permitting advertising (beginning in the 2023 season) on player helmets and jerseys. Preliminary estimates suggest the expanded playoff structure will generate at least $65 million annually, based on what sports media giant, ESPN, is likely to pay for the additional games, and could exceed $100 million annually with the likelihood of streaming deals with companies such as Apple and Peacock. The additional postseason revenues alone should more than offset the newly established $50 million pre-arbitration-eligible bonus pool for inexperienced players.
Forbes’ annual franchise valuations, which have been conducted since 1998, have the New York Yankees still holding the top spot for most valuable Major League Baseball team, at $6.0 billion (up 14% from 2021 and second in all of sports to the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys ($6.5 billion)). After the Yankees, the next four teams on the baseball franchise value hierarchy are the Los Angeles Dodgers ($4.075 billion, also up 14% from 2021), Boston Red Sox ($3.9 billion, up 13% from 2021), Chicago Cubs ($3.8 billion, up 13% from 2021), and San Francisco Giants ($3.5 billion, up 10% from 2021). The Miami Marlins finished 30th (last) on the list with a value estimate of $990 million.
Fresh off its 2021 World Series Championship, the (Censeo Advisors home team) Atlanta Braves franchise was tenth on the Forbes list with an estimated value of $2.1 billion, up 12% from 2021. The Braves are the only team in Major League Baseball owned by a publicly traded company; therefore, it is the only team whose financial information is publicly available.