The Amount Every MLB Team Will Earn Without Selling Tickets in 2022 Will Shock You

Major League Baseball is a money-spinner. And as the league progresses in popularity, the revenues are growing too. The nature of the sport is driving great interest in viewership and broadcasters know it. The latest estimates are in and if they are to be believed, MLB is bringing in some serious dough. No doubt, the pandemic wrought havoc in 2020; however, the league showed some signs of recovery in 2021 and is fully back in 2022.

With several ball clubs ready to host their teams and fans at full capacity, the 2022 season cannot wait to get underway. And the broadcasters will be eager for the baseball action to resume.

MLB is growing in newer markets and with great furor in 2022. With the emergence of foreign stars like Shohei Ohtani, the league is seeing great exposure to international markets too, and broadcasters know it. A new report sets out that the MLB franchises across the league could stand to make a mind-boggling amount. And that’s before the first pitch is even thrown.

Major League Baseball may just have come upon certain broadcasting deals which allow the teams both national and local coverage and give the teams some solid moolah.

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The MLB and its broadcasting deals

A tweet recently revealed the true financial figures made by MLB franchises. The financial figures have been derived from a deal arrived upon in 2021. The new broadcasting deal reportedly allows each franchise in excess of $100 million prior to even a single pitch being thrown in any of the ballparks. And more particularly without the sale of any tickets at all.

Major League Baseball (MLB), Disney, and ESPN have agreed on a new seven-year domestic broadcast partnership which will run till the end of the 2028 season. The newly minted deal was signed in May 2021 and is reportedly worth US$550 million per year.

The new broadcasting deal, beginning in 2022, will see some revisions. ESPN will see its number of exclusive, regular-season games drop from 90 to 30. They will, however, retain the marquee Sunday night package.

Although ESPN’s current contract sees it pay US$700 million per year, a higher amount than the current deal, the new agreement is seen as a positive. Even though the annual fee is decreasing, the new deal sees its cost per game go up. Thus, Major League Baseball could be looking at smaller packages from fixed revenue, but bearing in mind some specific variables for marquee games, viewership and revenue could rise.

After a Covid-hit 2020 season, MLB viewership has been strong this year. Sunday night games have seen enormous increases. The exact measure? Up 33 percent. Compared of course to the full-season average last year. The network claimed strong gains in young and female viewers over the 2021 season.