The Resilience Of MLB Teams Amidst Unprecedented Challenges

The 2020 and 2021 baseball seasons are…unique to say the least. The global pandemic reshaped every aspect of life, and sports took a significant hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) was no exception, as the 2020 season was drastically shortened, and fan attendance was severely limited. Despite these challenges, the financial landscape of MLB teams displayed surprising resilience. The average team value rose by 3% over the previous year, reaching an all-time high of $1.9 billion, showcasing the sport's enduring popularity.

Leading the pack is the New York Yankees, valued at $5.25 billion, making them the most valuable baseball team worldwide. This represents a 5% increase from the previous year, aligning them with other elite sports franchises like the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Knicks. The demand for baseball remains robust, even as teams grappled with financial losses during the pandemic.

Another remarkable aspect of this period is the significant investment in the sport. Billionaire hedge fund manager Steven Cohen set a record by purchasing the New York Mets for $2.42 billion. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox faced considerable operating losses in 2020 yet are currently exploring the sale of a minority stake at a valuation of $3.4 billion. These developments illustrate that while the pandemic posed challenges, the long-term value of baseball franchises remains promising.

The 2020 season of course was shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of the usual 162 game season, teams played just 60 games. The 30 teams in the MLB lost a total of $1.8 billion in 2020. For comparison, in 2019, the league had a profit of $1.5 billion.

MLB's revenue was down 65% in 2020 to $3.6 billion. There’s good news on the horizon, however. New national media deals will kick in next year, which will push the revenue of the league up 19% a year from 2022 to 2028. ESPN is decreasing its commitment to airing MLB games in the new deal. ESPN's current deal is worth $700 million to MLB and the new one will be worth $550 million. Fox is increasing its deal from $525 million to $755 million. TBS is also increasing its deal from $325 million to $535 million. Overall, this pushes MLB's national media deals from the current $1.55 billion to $1.84 billion—and, Major League Baseball still has inventory it can sell to broadcasters. Perhaps they will go outside of the traditional box for sports and air games on Amazon Prime, Hulu, or YouTube. Only time will tell.

Here are the 10 most-valuable baseball teams in the world today:

• #10. Washington Nationals – $1.925 billion
• #9. Los Angeles Angels – $2.025 billion
• #8. Philadelphia Phillies – $2.05 billion
• #7. St. Louis Cardinals – $2.245 billion
• #6. New York Mets – $2.45 billion
• #5. San Francisco Giants – $3.174 billion
• #4. Chicago Cubs – $3.175 billion
• #3. Boston Red Sox – $3.465 billion
• #2. Los Angeles Dodgers – $3.57 billion
• #1. New York Yankees – $5.25 billion