Phillies Ninth-Most Valuable Franchise in MLB According to Forbes
By John Town
Forbes magazine released their annual rankings of the most valuable franchises in Major League Baseball, and the Phillies came in at ninth-highest.
Even though the Phillies were in the bottom of the standings last year and may very well be there again this year, their value is still on the rise. Forbes released their rankings of the most valuable MLB franchises, and the Phils came in at ninth.
Forbes values the Phils at $1.65 billion, a 34% jump from 2016. They moved up one spot from ten in 2016 to nine this year.
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Forbes credited the fact Philadelphia’s payroll fell from $180 million to $119 million over the course of five seasons. Large chunks of that payroll cut came thanks to the expiring contracts of Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, and Roy Halladay along with trading away the bigger contracts of Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon.
John George of the Philadelphia Business Journal also pointed towards the lucrative $2.5 billion Comcast deal that just kicked in last year.
That added capital should work wonders for the team over the next two decades.
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The eight-highest valued franchise, the Los Angeles Angels, were valued at $1.75 billion with a value growth of 31%. The tenth-highest ranked franchise, the Washington Nationals, had a value of $1.6 billion with 23% growth compared to last year.
The Yankees were ranked as the most valuable franchise – no surprise there – at $3.7 billion. The Rays were valued the lowest at $825 million.
As a whole, the average MLB team is worth $1.537 million, which is up 19% from 2016. It is the second-highest average value behind only the NFL.
Forbes said the average value is so high because so few teams – five to be exact – operated at a loss in 2016. With revenue increasing faster than costs, many teams are in the black right now.
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However, Forbes also pointed out that trend may not continue considering the luxury tax will be raised over the next few seasons. Coupled with the rising average Opening Day payroll, costs could be going back up soon over the next few years.