Franchise value of Major League Baseball teams in the U.S. 2023

The overall revenue of Major League Baseball in 2022 was 10.32 billion U.S. dollars, with an average of 344 million U.S. dollars per team. In 2004, the average value of an MLB franchise was 295 million U.S. dollars. However, in the 2023 edition of MLB team valuations, the estimated average franchise value had greatly increased, reaching 2.32 billion U.S. dollars. The Miami Marlins was the least valuable franchise within the MLB, with a value of one billion U.S. dollars, whereas the New York Yankees can be considered the most valuable franchise, with a value of 7.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

MLB revenue streams

Major League Baseball (MLB) generates revenue from several sources. MLB teams earn significant amounts of money from the sale of television and radio broadcasting rights to networks and other media outlets, which allows media companies to broadcast games on TV or radio. Additionally, MLB teams and the league have numerous sponsorship deals, which provide them with income from advertising on stadiums and in broadcast media.

Another revenue stream for MLB teams is the sale of food, drinks, and other concessions at games. This includes the sale of traditional gameday fare such as hot dogs, popcorn, and beer, as well as official merchandise such as jerseys, caps, and other memorabilia which provide additional revenue streams for the franchise.

Take me out to the ball game

MLB teams also generate revenue from ticket sales for regular season and playoff games, which includes individual game tickets, season tickets, and suite rentals. Overall, MLB attendance is consistently high, with many teams regularly selling out their stadiums. Despite a significant reduction in 2021 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the attendance at matches of the MLB is expected to rebound as the pandemic situation improves, having already reached 26.8 thousand in 2022.