makesnosense wrote: ↑25 Feb 2026 06:27 am
TheJackBurton wrote: ↑24 Feb 2026 20:12 pm
PacNWCardsfan2 wrote: ↑24 Feb 2026 15:48 pm
mattmitchl44 wrote: ↑24 Feb 2026 10:13 am
PacNWCardsfan2 wrote: ↑24 Feb 2026 10:00 am
The delusion is that some think the owners worry over being competitive.
This is a business first and foremost. The owner want to make a profit, that what businesses do.
I think the small and mid market owners are coming around to a realization that a growing sense of a lack of competitiveness is an existential threat to their business.
Continue down the path they are on, if/when only a handful of teams can field enough talent to win a WS for 10, 15, etc. years in a row, and what happens to the other 25 teams? When do all of their fans start saying "what's the point?" and find other ways to spend their time and money? Then their revenues and the values of their teams dry up.
They have to address competitiveness before it gets to that point.
It may come to that someday. But currently, the MLB is seeing year over year increases in revenue, attendance, viewership, and salaries. As long that trend continues, no major changes will occur. With even the current revenue sharing, the small and mid markets are still making an acceptable profit. That is what the owners care about.
I agree with what you say, just not the urgency.
that is nothing but voodoo accounting to not appear to be as in danger as they are.
During the month of may look at the majority of stadiums on the weeknights and you'll see 20k or less in 85% of them. Yet they'll still announce 32k tickets sold. The teams sell the vast majority of their tickets to ticket brokers and give them away so they can announce those numbers.
I went to exactly one Cards game last year, the announced attendance was something like 29.5k if there was 18k in the stadium I'd have been shocked.
The revenue thing is even more of that as a few teams have massive tv deals and with these idiotic theme ticket nights tickets are 20% more expensive on most evenings.
The vodoo accounting is done by the owners. They cry poor, but won't open their books to show the numbers.
^^^^
This.
Two teams are public, and therefore, the finances are public. Here's what that tells us (per ChatGPT):
"The two publicly held MLB-related entities (the Atlanta Braves and the Toronto Blue Jays/Rogers Communications) show that MLB teams make far more money—and spend far more—than the league’s privately owned teams usually disclose, and they give us a solid window into how the rest of the league likely looks financially.
Key takeaways from their financials:
• Revenues are substantially higher than most teams suggest, typically in the $450M–$650M per year range depending on market size and new stadium-related income.
• Operating income (EBITDA) is positive for large-market teams, even after aggressive spending.
• Most “losses” reported by MLB owners are accounting losses, driven by amortization, revenue-sharing calculations, and team-owned RSNs—meaning cash flow is healthier than claimed.
• Stadium districts are major profit centers. The Braves’ mixed‑use development (The Battery) produces tens of millions in high-margin income—suggesting many privately owned teams with adjacent real estate are also making money off-book.
• Player payroll is the largest expense, but even high-payroll teams show sustainable margins.
• Media rights remain the biggest revenue driver, and the public teams show that local TV deals are often richer than estimated for private clubs.
What this implies about other teams:
• Most MLB teams are almost certainly profitable on an operating basis.
• Small-market teams, despite revenue sharing, likely generate solid positive cash flow unless intentionally suppressing payroll.
• Owners have strong incentives to underreport profitability because it helps in CBAs, public funding negotiations, and competitive balance discussions.
• Franchise values—now averaging over $2B—are supported by long‑run cash flow that mirrors what we see from the Braves and Jays."