The owners chose to spend the money not pocket it all.
Here's an example of all the money generated by T..V. in MLB---the second highest grossing sport in the
world.
Major League Baseball
The second-highest grossing league in the world is Major League Baseball, which
grossed a little more than $10 billion in 2017. The league became the second sports league to exceed that threshold.
Major League Baseball can’t match the NFL in its number of valuable franchises; only six place on
Forbes’ list of 50 most valuable sports franchises. However, MLB’s most valuable franchise, the New York Yankees, ranks fifth on the list at $4 billion, greater than every NFL franchise except the Dallas Cowboys.
A big difference between the NFL and MLB is the use of regional sports networks. Baseball teams collect millions of dollars each year from regional TV networks. However, not all teams are big winners in their regional TV deals. One franchise sets the example of how to profit big off of the deals.
Globe Life Park, home of the Texas Rangers. (Photo by Visions of America/UIG via Getty Images)
After signing a new television deal in 2014 with Spectrum Sportsnet LA worth $8.35 billion over 25 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are the majority owner of the regional sports network, made
$204 million in revenue off of TV money alone in 2016.
Only one other team, the Los Angeles Angels, collected more than $100 million ($118) in TV revenue in 2016. The after-effects of these types of contracts are massive.
The Angels signed their deal in 2012, tripling the TV revenue they received from their 10-year, $500 million contract that expired in 2011. Since more TV revenue tends to lead to a bigger payroll,
the Angels shelled out a combined $331.5 million to top free agents Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. Five of the
top 10 TV revenue teams also rank in the top 10 in payroll.
Attendance is a major revenue stream for Major League Baseball. Attendance
dropped four percent in the 2018, creating the lowest overall league attendance since 2003. Seventeen of 30 teams had an attendance decrease, leading to $93.7 million in lost ticket revenue.
The average MLB ticket price
has risen every season since 2006 and the average price was $32.44 in 2018. It is unclear how much the cost of attending a game is affecting the attendance numbers. The decrease in attendance also affects concessions sales. Based on the attendance decline, the league estimated
almost $50 million in concession sales was lost.
A huge amount of money was poured into the professional sports market in 2018. One-hundred and six sports franchises worldwide are valued at over $1 billion
globalsportmatters.com