Forbes list of the most valuable MLB teams

Last updated

The official ground of the New York Yankees, the most valuable MLB team as of the 2023 MLB season. New Yankee Stadium.JPG
The official ground of the New York Yankees, the most valuable MLB team as of the 2023 MLB season.

Forbes compiles the finances of all 30 MLB teams to produce an annual ranking of the best franchises in terms of valuation. The valuations are composed of the monetary worth of the sport, market, stadium deals, and brand. [1] These areas are supported by applying financial metrics such as debt and operating income to each one. [2]

Contents

The latest ranking reported that the New York Yankees is the most valuable MLB franchise. [3] The fastest growing MLB franchise is the New York Yankees as well, with a 50% increase in valuation since the 2017 MLB season ($4 to $6 billion). [1] The Yankees have held the crown for the most valuable MLB franchise since the inaugural ranking, which was released after the 1998 MLB season. [4]

Several media outlets have referenced in related news or conducts analytic journalism when the ranking comes out, such as USA Today and Yahoo!. [5] [6] MLB has recognized the renditions of the ranking in financial documents, although not publicly. [7] [8] The report has also applied more context to MLB trends, such as the root of the 2021–22 MLB lockout being that owners were getting more money while players/employees were getting less despite growing valuations. [9] This was further illustrated by the next edition of the ranking after the lockout, where nearly every MLB franchise has been growing, although MLB is decidedly the slowest among the "Big Four" leagues along with MLS. [10] [11] [12]

Ranking

Rankings as of March 23, 2023 (2022 MLB season) [2]

RankSwing [a] TeamState/
Province
Value [b] Change [c] Debt [d] Revenue [e] Operating Income [f]
#1Steady2.svg New York Yankees Flag of New York.svg  New York $7.1 billionIncrease2.svg 54.3%0%$657 million$16 million
#2Steady2.svg Los Angeles Dodgers Flag of California.svg  California $4.8 billionIncrease2.svg 45.5%9%$581 million$14 million
#3Steady2.svg Boston Red Sox Flag of Massachusetts.svg  Massachusetts $4.5 billionIncrease2.svg 40.6%0%$513 million$72 million
#4Steady2.svg Chicago Cubs Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois $4.1 billionIncrease2.svg 32.3%10%$451 million$57 million
#5Steady2.svg San Francisco Giants Flag of California.svg  California $3.7 billionIncrease2.svg 23.3%4%$421 million$75 million
#6Steady2.svg New York Mets Flag of New York.svg  New York $2.9 billionIncrease2.svg 26.1%16%$374 million–$138 million
#7Increase2.svg 2 Los Angeles Angels Flag of California.svg  California $2.7 billionIncrease2.svg 42.1%0%$371 million$36 million
#8Increase2.svg 4 Atlanta Braves Flag of Georgia (U.S. state).svg  Georgia $2.6 billionIncrease2.svg 52.9%18%$425 million$51 million
#9Decrease2.svg 1 Philadelphia Phillies Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania $2.575 billionIncrease2.svg 35.5%5%$398 million–$3.7 million
#10Decrease2.svg 3 St. Louis Cardinals Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri $2.55 billionIncrease2.svg 21.4%8%$358 million$43 million
#11Steady2.svg Houston Astros Flag of Texas.svg  Texas $2.25 billionIncrease2.svg 25%13%$407 million$44 million
#12Increase2.svg 1 Texas Rangers Flag of Texas.svg  Texas $2.225 billionIncrease2.svg 30.9%31%$366 million$58 million
#13Increase2.svg 2 Seattle Mariners Flag of Washington.svg  Washington $2.2 billionIncrease2.svg 37.5%9%$363 million$86 million
#14Increase2.svg 2 Toronto Blue Jays Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario $2.1 billionIncrease2.svg 40%0%$294 million–$34 million
#15Decrease2.svg 1 Chicago White Sox Flag of Illinois.svg  Illinois $2.05 billionIncrease2.svg 28.1%7%$276 million–$53 million
#16Decrease2.svg 6 Washington Nationals Flag of Washington, D.C.svg  Washington, D.C. $2 billionIncrease2.svg 11.1%25%$356 million$45 million
#17Steady2.svg San Diego Padres Flag of California.svg  California $1.75 billionIncrease2.svg 25%17%$324 million–$53 million
#18Increase2.svg 2 Baltimore Orioles Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland $1.713 billionIncrease2.svg 31.8%13%$264 million$57 million
#19Increase2.svg 6 Milwaukee Brewers Flag of Wisconsin.svg  Wisconsin $1.605 billionIncrease2.svg 33.75%9%$294 million$23 million
#20Increase2.svg 3 Colorado Rockies Flag of Colorado.svg  Colorado $1.475 billionIncrease2.svg 22.9%8%$286 million–$9.1 million
#21Decrease2.svg 3 Detroit Tigers Flag of Michigan.svg  Michigan $1.45 billionIncrease2.svg 11.5%12%$260 million–$26 million
#22Steady2.svg Minnesota Twins Flag of Minnesota.svg  Minnesota $1.39 billionIncrease2.svg 15.8%20%$267 million–$27 million
#23Decrease2.svg 4 Arizona Diamondbacks Flag of Arizona.svg  Arizona $1.38 billionIncrease2.svg 6.2%9%$276 million$30 million
#24Decrease2.svg 3 Pittsburgh Pirates Flag of Pennsylvania.svg  Pennsylvania $1.32 billionIncrease2.svg 1.5%11%$262 million$55 million
#25Decrease2.svg 1 Cleveland Guardians Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio $1.3 billionIncrease2.svg 8.3%8%$268 million$40 million
#26Increase2.svg 3 Tampa Bay Rays Flag of Florida.svg  Florida $1.25 billionIncrease2.svg 25%10%$248 million$9.5 million
#27Increase2.svg 1 Kansas City Royals Flag of Missouri.svg  Missouri $1.2 billionIncrease2.svg 20%23%$260 million$33 million
#28Decrease2.svg 2 Cincinnati Reds Flag of Ohio.svg  Ohio $1.19 billionIncrease2.svg 8.2%13%$250 million–$9.6 million
#29Decrease2.svg 2 Oakland Athletics Flag of California.svg  California $1.18 billionIncrease2.svg 7.3%13%$212 million$29 million
#30Steady2.svg Miami Marlins Flag of Florida.svg  Florida $1 billionSteady2.svg 0%40%$238 million–$0.5 million

Composition

A pie chart that represents the composition of valuation for the average MLB team.
  1. Sport (28.5%)
  2. Market (40.1%)
  3. Stadium (19.5%)
  4. Brand (11.9%)

Historical valuations

Historical valuations (in US$ millions) by MLB team [g]
Team 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
New York Yankees 7,1006,0005,3005,0004,6004,0003,7003,4003,2002,5002,300
Los Angeles Dodgers 4,8004,0753,6003,4003,3003,0002,8002,5002,4002,0001,600
Boston Red Sox 4,5003,9003,5003,3003,2002,8002,7002,3002,1001,5001,300
Chicago Cubs 4,1003,8003,4003,2003,1002,9002,7002,2001,8001,2001,000
San Francisco Giants 3,7003,5003,2003,1003,0002,9002,7002,3002,0001,000786
New York Mets 2,9002,6502,5002,4002,3002,1002,0001,7001,400800811
Los Angeles Angels 2,7002,2002,0002,0001,9001,8001,8001,3001,300775718
Atlanta Braves 2,6002,1001,9001,8001,7001,6001,5001,2001,200730629
Philadelphia Phillies 2,5752,3002,1002,0001,9001,7001,7001,2001,300975893
St. Louis Cardinals 2,5502,4502,2002,2002,1001,9001,8001,6001,400820716
Houston Astros 2,2501,9801,9001,9001,8001,7001,5001,100800530626
Texas Rangers 2,2252,0501,8001,8001,7001,6001,6001,2001,200825764
Seattle Mariners 2,2001,7001,6001,6001,6001,5001,4001,2001,100710644
Toronto Blue Jays 2,1001,7801,7001,6001,5001,4001,300900870610568
Chicago White Sox 2,0501,7601,7001,7001,6001,5001,4001,100975695692
Washington Nationals 2,0002,0001,9001,9001,8001,7001,6001,3001,300700631
San Diego Padres 1,7501,5751,5001,5001,4001,3001,100890890615600
Baltimore Orioles 1,7131,3751,4001,4001,3001,2001,2001,0001,000620618
Milwaukee Brewers 1,6051,2801,2001,2001,2001,000925875875565562
Colorado Rockies 1,4751,3851,3001,3001,2001,1001,000860855575537
Detroit Tigers 1,4501,4001,3001,3001,3001,2001,2001,2001,100680643
Minnesota Twins 1,3901,3901,3001,3001,2001,2001,000910895605578
Arizona Diamondbacks 1,3801,3801,3001,3001,3001,2001,200925840585584
Pittsburgh Pirates 1,3201,3201,3001,3001,3001,3001,300975900572479
Cleveland Guardians 1,3001,3001,2001,2001,2001,000920800825570559
Tampa Bay Rays 1,2501,1001,1001,1001,000900825650625485451
Kansas City Royals 1,2001,1101,1001,0001,0001,000950865700490457
Cincinnati Reds 1,1901,1901,1001,1001,1001,000915905885600546
Oakland Athletics 1,1801,1801,1001,1001,1001,000880725725495468
Miami Marlins 1,0009909909801,0001,000940675650500520

See also

Notes

  1. Movement of spots in the ranking from the 2018 MLB season to the 2022 MLB season.
  2. 1 2 Value of team (in USD) based on current stadium deal (unless new stadium is pending), without deduction for debt (other than stadium debt).
  3. Change of valuation from the 2018 MLB season to the 2022 MLB season.
  4. Expressed as the percentage of valuation that is debt. Includes stadium debt.
  5. Revenue in USD.
  6. Earnings (in USD) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
  7. 1 2 Financial data taken from each team profile on Forbes.
  8. Portion of franchise's value attributable to revenue shared among all teams.
  9. Portion of franchise's value attributable to its city and market size.
  10. Portion of franchise's value attributable to its arena.
  11. Portion of franchise's value attributable to its brand.

References

  1. 1 2 "New York Yankees Profile". Forbes . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Baseball's Most Valuable Teams 2023: Price Tags Are Up 12% Despite Regional TV Woes". Forbes . Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  3. "The Business of Baseball List". Forbes . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  4. "No surprise where Yankees rank in Forbes' latest MLB valuations". SNY (TV network) . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  5. "Report: Yankees now worth an estimated $6 billion, with 12 of 30 MLB franchises topping $2 billion mark". USA Today . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  6. "Yankees reportedly valued at $6 billion, making them MLB's most valuable franchise". Yahoo!. March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  7. "Baltimore Orioles Financial News Directory (Page 100)" (PDF). Major League Baseball . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  8. "A's second baseman Jemile Weeks: Is he on the verge of stardom? (Page 2)" (PDF). Major League Baseball . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  9. "WHAT THE MLB LOCKOUT MEANS FOR BASEBALL (2:25)". YouTube. December 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  10. "KC Royals, and nearly every other MLB team, are worth more after lockout, Forbes says". The Kansas City Star . Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  11. "Statista Global Consumer Survey: How can the NFL engage their fans?". YouTube (Statista). February 7, 2022. Retrieved August 16, 2022.
  12. "How Major League Soccer Plans To Overtake Baseball". YouTube (CNBC). November 26, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2022.