Forbes has released their annual look at the most valuable MLB teams and the St. Louis Cardinals rank 7th with an estimated valuation of 1.6B dollars.
Per Brian Feldt of the STLBJ:
The Cardinals are valued at $1.6 billion, a 14.3 percent increase over last year’s valuation. Profit for the team dropped from $73.6 million in 2014 to $60 million in 2015, according to Forbes’ figures, though the team is still the third most profitable team in MLB, trailing just the San Francisco Giants (operating income of $73 million) and the Houston Astros (operating income of $67 million).
The Astros started a new cable television deal last season, which is likely behind the uptick in profit. The Cardinals’ new $1.1 billion deal with Fox Sports Midwest, which is expected to contribute $67 million to $80 million annually to the Cardinals’ top line, doesn’t take effect until 2018.
Since the list started in 1998, the Yankees have held the top spot (by a wide margin). Here is the rest of the top 5:
- Yankees (3.4B)
- Dodgers (2.5B)
- Red Sox (2.3B)
- Giants (2.25B)
- Cubs (2.2B)
With the Mets coming in 6th on this list, St. Louis is the smallest city (by far) to crack the top 7. An impressive feat all things considered.
Forbes has more on what separates the “big boys” on this list versus everyone else:
Ancillary businesses are what separate the big boys (teams worth over $2 billion) from their less valuable rivals because they increase revenue both directly (regional sports networks and non-baseball stadium events) and indirectly (real estate ventures near the stadium and cross-marketing multiple teams). Another key: MLB equally divides 27% of the league’s overall revenue among its 30 teams, versus 65% for the NFL’s 32 teams. Even when you add baseball’s supplemental revenue sharing from rich to poor teams (48% of the sport’s net local revenue) the league equally splits just 31% of its gross. This is why big market teams with business models that reach beyond the diamond dominate the top of our rankings.
TL;DR? The other developments of Ballpark Village that haven’t broke ground yet are likely getting some serious analysis around team HQ right about now.
In case you’re wondering, the Tampa Bay Rays are the least valuable MLB franchise. But don’t crack the piggy bank just yet for your very own team – they are still estimated to be worth 650M dollars.
Oh, and while we weren’t paying attention, MLB just made a nice little deal with Apple to put iPads in the dugout. So expect these revenue numbers to be even higher for everyone in 2016.
BREAKING: Purists' heads explode in 3..2..1.. https://t.co/nXucBEqqx2
— Maury Brown (@BizballMaury) March 30, 2016
Photo: Forbes
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
