You guys know I'm a pimp for baseball. But even I'm shocked these numbers are this high...and that the revenues gap between MLB and the NFL has closed this much. http://chicagosports.chicagotribune...ers,1,2137639.column?coll=cs-whitesox-utility MLB cash cow breaking away Selig envisions surpassing NFL with huge influx of new revenue October 7, 2007 Executives with Major League Baseball are riding high after arguably the most compelling September in history. How high? How about take-on-the-NFL high? "I probably shouldn't say this," one highly placed MLB executive said last week. "There was a time when I wouldn't even think it. But I think we're going to see a time in the future, the near future, when we are going to pass the NFL in producing revenue." That thought would have seemed preposterous a decade ago. But Commissioner Bud Selig didn't laugh when the possibility was presented during a discussion. "By any measure you want to look at, our sport is more popular now than it has ever been," Selig said. "The country really is baseball-crazy today, no question." The 30 major-league franchises combined to draw 79.5 million fans, averaging 32,785 per game. The overall attendance increased 4.5 percent over the record 2006 totals. Local, cable and network ratings are also on the rise. "The sport is exploding," Selig said. The final revenue figures for 2007 still are being calculated, but Selig said the projection is $5.6 billion to $5.8 billion. The NFL produced $5.7 billion in revenue in 2005 and is expected to rise to about $6.3 billion this year. MLB definitely is closing what was once a huge gap. As recently as 1992, when the small-market clubs aggressively began pushing for a redistribution of national funds, MLB's total revenue was $1.2 billion. That means MLB has grown by more than 350 percent in 15 years. With its global development and the Internet, MLB has tapped into revenue streams that have money flowing into the central fund, which passes most of it back to the clubs in equal shares, the Kansas City Royals getting as much as the New York Yankees. MLB's TV network, another potential source of major revenue, has a launch slated for 2009. MLB redistributes about $315 million from the biggest clubs to the smallest this season, but that is only one part of the financial model Selig believes allowed Colorado, Arizona and Cleveland to go to the playoffs this season. With the Yankees the only 2006 playoff team to make it back this season, 15 of the 30 franchises have been in postseason play over the last two years. The chase for the wild card has driven the increased attendance, prompting fans to keep going to games after school has started, with the small-market teams the biggest beneficiaries of the increased attendance. "The economic model we were using in the 1990s was broken," Selig said. "I don't think we really realized how badly it was broken. The same with the labor fights every four years. I don't think we really knew how much we were hurting ourselves. Fans did not want to hear about that. They want to know about the sport on the field, and that has never been better."
The owners are making obscene money. The players are making obscene money. The fans are paying obscene money...for tickets and everything else.
I agree generally. But it's all relative, because all pro sports are like that. Baseball is still more affordable than NHL, NFL or NBA. You can pay $5 and get a seat at an Astros game.
Amazing. I knew they were doing very well, but to be able to even think about catching the NFL is impressive. I still believe they can do more to make the Royals, D-Rays, and Pirates of the world more competitive. I don't think, at this point, that a salary minimum would be such a bad idea. Keep the revenue sharing in place, but make it contingent on the team at least attempting to field a competitive team. If you don't spend $50 million on your payroll, you don't get the money.
i think it has a lot more to do with new fan-friendly ballparks everywhere. the steroid era is over. the HGH era is ongoing....and it's prevalent in every sport.
Well, I can see why. It has always been America's pasttime (sp?), except for a few years after the 1995 strike. Baseball tickets are still affordable, unlike basketball and football. It still has a clean image except for the steroid thing. You don't see a lot of baseball players getting arrested all the time like you do in the NBA and NFL. Also, games are family friendly, unlike the NBA where you have a bunch of half naked women shaking their asses half the game (not that I mind ) Also, baseball players don't showboat like NFL/NBA players do. I think the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has also helped as well. I am a huge NBA/NFL fan (in fact I prefer both to MLB), but most people I work with in their 40's and up hate the NBA because of all the drug arrests and are turning on the NFL as well. (Their opinion, not mine)
MLB would like to thank the fans of the Florida Marlins who contributed an eye popping $500 to that total revenue through Marlins ticket sales...
not to be a naysayer as im not a big baseball fan, and obviously the numbers are way, way up, but im in college right now and i think baseball is definitely third among the big sports here. football is by far the best...and basketball and baseball are close...but basketball is still more popular, and much more so as far as playing recreationally goes. i think the older generation definitely leans towards baseball, and as they are the ones with the disposable income (as well as baseball games being much, much cheaper, plus there being 160 of them) i think that's why these numbers are so inflated. id be really interested to see how the numbers are in ten years or so.
you understand the way they've trended for the past 15, right??? it's in the article. people were making this "young people don't like baseball" argument 15 years ago. it clearly hasn't held water. i can provide you some antecdotal evidence as well. the kids my kid goes to elementary school with talk constantly of baseball. they wear shirts, caps and jerseys with the astros and other MLB teams. i see them wear NFL jerseys and shirts as well. but my son is the ONLY one of his friends who ever wears rockets stuff or nba stuff.
I'm a hoops junkie, but the truth is that the NBA will never be as popular as MLB and NFL. MLB has about 125 years of history and tradition behind it, plus has a large hispanic player base and fan base. Hispanics are the fastest growing demographic in the country, so look for that revenue stream to only increase. The NFL feeds off of Americans' love of violence. The entire game is a 3 hour long war metaphor. The NBA and NHL are niche sports. Basketball is a sport where attendence and TV ratings are almost directly correlated with the quality and style of play. Just look at the Spurs/Cavs NBA Finals. Boring basketball = low ratings. Plus, while Stern is a great commissioner and has done a great job at globalizing the game, he has done a horrible job marketing the NBA in America post Jordan. His contract extension with ABC might have been the worst decision he's ever made.
Its odd though how we don't see this kind of comparison of revenue with the NBA and the other leagues. It seems as if its always MLB vs. NFL, and NBA is never included in the argument. Maybe David Stern knows something we don't know? Then again, this is the same David Stern who outlawed anything other than business attire for players pre and post game!
The NBA is a lot more popular around the world than either the NFL or MLB. I guess that is obvious, huh? I'm just saying... Basketball rules ! #1 super sport!!! ^_^
There is a physical limit on the NBA because the arenas are much smaller. The max for a basketball arena is about 20K where you can fit almost a 100K in football stadium. In a baseball stadium you can put alot people as well and there are 160 games.
exactly, its also a function of numbers, the ballparks are more popular, good for them, they're publicly financed, i'm glad they're good investments, doesn't mean the sport is more popular.
I am a huge baseball fan but I don't think the sport is at a all time high in popularity, in fact I think it is at a pretty low level when you talk about "hard core" baseball fans. It is at a all time high as far as folks going to games because baseball has done a great job making it "a family experience" Most folks I know like football hands down number one and then some like baseball number 2 and some like basketball number 2. We will see what things look like in 10 years when all these stadiums are 15-20 years old and prices (with no cap) continue to go crazy.
