Forbes recently published some numbers that will surely interest fans.
They identified the New York Yankees as the most valuable MLB franchise, at $7.1 billion.
They also spotted the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres as the organizations with the most financial losses in the past season.
However, the one bit of information that upset fans the most was this one: the Oakland Athletics and the Pittsburgh Pirates were among the most profitable teams in the league.
They were far from leading the league in attendance, and they are far from generating as much money in merchandise sales than, say, the Mets or Padres.
So why did they make so much money?
Revenue sharing.
The A’s were the fifth-most profitable team in baseball, and the Pirates were eighth.
“This is why the players union and large-market owners get upset with teams who receive revenue-sharing money but don’t spend it on their payroll. Oakland A’s: $62.2 million (5th-most profitable MLB team in 2022, per Forbes), Pittsburgh Pirates: $51.5 million (8th-most profitable),” MLB insider Bob Nightengale tweeted.
This is why the players union and large-market owners get upset with teams who receive revenue-sharing money but don’t spend it on their payroll.
Oakland A’s: $62.2 million (5th-most profitable MLB team in 2022, per Forbes)
Pittsburgh Pirates: $51.5 million (8th-most profitable) https://t.co/VGpY08GL2v—Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) March 23, 2023
Revenue sharing favors small-market teams, but sometimes these organizations don’t reinvest their money on their rosters.
They cheap out, they say they want to “cut payroll”, only to put a mediocre product on the field and pocket the profit.
These are the owners that harm baseball, not Steven Cohen or Peter Seidler.
The Mets and Padres generated losses because they invested a whole lot of resources on their roster because they want to win.
Teams like A’s, the Pirates, the Colorado Rockies, and a few others don’t want to win.
They don’t seem to care.
NEXT:
The Dodgers Have Incredible Odds For A Repeat Performance
