Despite the often-repeated claims that baseball is dying, revenue in MLB has continued to rise each season outside of the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The league was able to rebound successfully in 2021 following a record-breaking $10.7 billion in revenue during the 2019 season that dropped in 2020.
Clubs traditionally keep their financial information hidden, but a look into the Atlanta Braves’ financials revealed an 11% revenue increase in quarter three of 2021 compared to the same timeframe in 2019.
During the 2022 season, the league once again set their revenue record, making nearly $11 billion during the season, according to Maury Brown of Forbes:
Before any expenses, MLB saw revenues of between $10.8-$10.9 billion, a new record that has been confirmed by the league.
The expanded postseason, which was agreed to as part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement from before the 2022 season began, has helped the league increase revenue, with an extra $85 million per year going to the league from ESPN as part of their broadcasting agreement, in addition to the extra revenue from each game played.
Total MLB attendance was down in 2022 from previous seasons, with roughly 64,500,000 fans making their way to a game, compared to 68,500,000 in 2019 and its peak of nearly 80 million during the 2007 season.
However, the streaming deals with multiple outlets, such as Apple TV+, Peacock, and Youtube TV, have also positively affected total revenue, and likely contribute to fewer people attending games.
Despite the overall drop in attendance, the Los Angeles Dodgers once again surpassed the three million mark, nearly reaching four million fans during the 2022 season, and posting their two highest marks in Dodger Stadium history.
They have led the league in attendance for nine consecutive seasons, excluding 2020 when fans were not permitted to attend games. They were one of four teams in 2022 to reach the three million fan mark and had roughly half a million more than the second-closest club.
Shohei Ohtani not thinking about contract
The Los Angeles Angels have been fortunate enough to have Shohei Ohtani in their uniform for five seasons, but without a long-term extension in place, the two-way superstar is headed toward record-breaking money when he hits free agency.
In the final year of his deal, there haven’t been any reported substantial talks for a long-term contract to stay with the Angels, and Ohtani wants to focus on his season.
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