Commissioner Bud still says he’s going to retire next year. I don’t believe him yet. But whenever he does wind up leaving, I think we know what his legacy’s going to be. Here’s a high-finance report from Maury Brown:
MLB’s coffers? Why, they’re overflowing!
It was a very good year for Major League Baseball; as in historic. According to a source speaking on condition of anonymity, for 2013 MLB gross revenues will exceed $8 billion for the first time, ever. While exact figures were not revealed, baseball will end 2013 with revenues between $8-$8.5 billion.
Last year, revenues were above $7.5 billion. While attendance has been ostensibly flat for the league, the continuing growth in television revenue is a key reason for the rapid escalation.
--snip--
In 1995, MLB revenues were $1.4 billion, or over $2.2 billion when accounting for inflation. Since that time, gross revenues for the league have grown a staggering 264 percent in 18 years.
None of this news should materially affect your enjoyment of the game. Mostly, it means that players will make somewhat more money than they’ve been making, and owners will be somewhat less willing to bend to outside pressures, whether for ill or good. Mostly, I bring this up only so you’ll have some fresh ammunition the next time someone who’s not paying attention tries to tell you that baseball is dying.
It’s funny. Many years ago -- I don’t know, at least a decade ago probably -- I wrote, “Baseball is awash in cash.” But I didn’t begin to dream of the ensuing flood.
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