It’s not quite breaking news to announce that the Yanks are Major League Baseball’s most valuable team, but when Forbes announced its club valuations on Wednesday, the numbers were staggering. Not only are the Yanks Major League Baseball’s top franchise, but they are by a whopping 86 percent.
The Yankees, says Forbes, are worth $1.7 billion while the Red Sox are number two at $912 million. The Yankees allegedly generate over $427 million in revenue and turn an annual profit of $25.7 million. Nice work if you can get it, eh? Coming in last on the list are the Pittsburgh Pirates with the A’s and Rays right behind them.
Fans of the Bombers don’t need Forbes valuations to drive home the lucrative nature of business in the Bronx, but these figures — estimates because baseball doesn’t open its books — certainly contextualize the revenue stream. In fact, no other team even approaches the Yanks’ revenue figures as Boston earns $272 million annually. Just to compete with the Yankees, the Sox lost $1.1 million last year.
When we sort the list by operating income though, the Yankees slip a few places to seventh, and the teams ahead of them are mostly surprising. The Padres and Nationals lead baseball operating income; both clubs top $35 million before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The Marlins and A’s, two clubs that earned headlines for raking in the dough without investing on the field, both made over $20 million in income last year.
In a blog post on the valuations, Forbes senior editor Kurt Badenhausen discussed the Yanks’ financial edge. He writes:
Yankee Global Enterprises is a three-engine money-making machine. The baseball team generated $325 million in revenue from regular-season tickets and luxury suites in 2010. Sponsorship revenue at the stadium is $85 million annually thanks to deals with PepsiCo, Bank of America, MasterCard, Delta Air Lines and others.
The YES Network, the team’s 34%-owned regional sports channel, is the most profitable RSN in the country and had over $400 million in revenue last year. The Yankees own a stake in Legends Hospitality Management, which manages stadiums, and generates $25 million in operating income. The enterprise value for the Yankees, YES and Legends is $5.1 billion.
In a sense, that certainly begs a question: Should the Yankees be at all worried about a budget? The numbers suggest that perhaps they shouldn’t, but the numbers don’t illuminate internal pressures both from within the organization or from the Commissioner’s Office.
Baseball’s Debt Bombs
In addition to the franchise valuations, Forbes also unveiled an extensive piece on debt disasters within baseball. Nathan Vardi and Monte Burke rehash the stories concerning the Dodgers and Rangers, focus a bit on the Mets and highlight the cash-starved Diamondbacks and Padres as well. Owning a baseball team is a sound long-term investment, but turning a profit and winning is no sure thing outside of the Bronx.
Jeter’s jersey still sells
The 2011 season will be Derek Jeter’s 16th as a full-time player, and yet, his jersey still sells like hotcakes. As Major League Baseball announced yesterday, Derek’s No. 2 is the most popular choice among fans purchasing Majestic jerseys. A-Rod (9) and Mark Teixeira (11) are the only other Yanks in the top 20, and somehow, Jacoby Ellsbury’s jersey ranked 16th last year. Joe Mauer, Roy Halladay, Chase Utley and Cliff Lee rounded out the top five last year.
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