Cricket
IPL 2026: 'You can bowl this too, right?' - R Ashwin questions Hardik Pandya's death-over call
R Ashwin critiques Hardik Pandya's decision-making in IPL 2026 after a loss to CSK.
Yahoo Sports1 min read
MLB
MLB Franchise Values: More money, same old disparity
TL;DR
MLB franchise values have surged to an estimated $95 billion, averaging $3.17 billion per team, marking a 12% increase from last year. This growth highlights ongoing economic disparities within the league as labor negotiations approach.
Key points
- MLB franchises are worth an estimated $95 billion
- Average franchise value is $3.17 billion
- 12% increase from the previous year
- Largest upward mobility since 2001
- Upcoming labor negotiations will focus on economic issues
USA - 2009: Anita Langemach color illustration of one-hundred-dollar bill with Benjamin Franklin wearing baseball cap and blowing whistle. (The Gazette (Colorado Springs)/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Though by no means a pleasant or enjoyable topic, an undercurrent of the 2026 MLB campaign will be the upcoming labor negotiations upon season’s-end—especially as they apply to economic affairs. As someone who has always been fascinated by baseball’s competitive balance, it is a subject I may return to a time or two this summer as the opportunity presents itself.
I recently saw this article from Sportico (decent chance you’ll hit a pay wall—but I somehow got one free crack at it) regarding their estimated MLB franchise values. Here are the (literal) bullet points:
- All 30 MLB squads together are worth an estimated $95 billion. That’s an average of $3.17 billion—a 12% jump from the previous year (the largest upward mobility since Sportico started evals in 2001).
- As one would expect, the New York Yankees ($9.4 billion) & the Los Angeles Dodgers ($9.05 billion) raked in the most cash-ola. On the other end of the spectrum: the Miami Marlins (a paltry $1.45 billion).
Clearly, no matter how poor owners cry, the best of them are Scrooge McDuck-ing into piles of loot while the worst of them are still sitting on a billion-dollar asset.
Key figure #1: The percentage difference between the top and bottom team 2026 evaluations is 146.54%.
This got me wondering how things have changed in this regard over time, so I picked a nice anniversary—25 years back—and found these 2001 franchise $$$ evals from Forbes:
- Start spreadin’ the news—the Yanks were #1 at $635 million
- The Montreal Expos brought up the rear at $92 million (though no gloating here—our Minnesota Twins were second-worst at $99 million)
Key figure #2: The percentage difference between the top and bottom team 2001 evaluations was 149.38%.
The take-home points from this Baseball Economics 101 lecture…
- Major League Baseball clubs make money. Period. Full stop. If anyone says otherwise, they are either lying or incompetent as businesspeople.
- Despite these franchises going up, up, and away in valuations, the difference between the Elon Musk-class (high end) franchise and your general, everyday billionaire-owned franchise (low end) remains about the same over the past 25 years.
Without a doubt, disparity has always hounded the national pastime. Population-density alone guarantees the big coastal cities fuller ballparks and more lucrative media deals. But MLB—unlike the salary-capped NFL—allows its owners to self-police their oligarchical, antitrust-exempted setup. Sadly, those police officers are more Barney Fife than Joe Friday.
Despite a lot of big checks being cashed on the back of baseball, the gap between the top and bottom earning clubs remains unchanged in a quarter-century.
Q&A
What is the total estimated value of all MLB franchises in 2026?
The total estimated value of all MLB franchises in 2026 is $95 billion.
How much has the average MLB franchise value increased in the last year?
The average MLB franchise value has increased by 12% in the last year, reaching $3.17 billion.
What are the implications of the upcoming labor negotiations for MLB teams?
The upcoming labor negotiations could impact economic affairs and competitive balance among MLB teams, especially given the current disparities in franchise values.
