Major League Baseball has reported $12.1 billion in revenue for the 2024 fiscal year, according to Forbes. This marks a record high for the league, breaking the previous record of $11.6 billion in 2023. Take note that the league saw an increase of $500 million in just one year, so the growth continues to be substantial.
That figure does not include any other companies owned by the teams or mixed-use developments around the stadium, like the Braves’ The Battery, according to Forbes, nor does it include revenue from team-owned RSNs, which typically bring in tens of millions of dollars annually.
“Oh, yeah,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told Sportico in October. “We’ve had a good year. Our business was strong.”
This continues a long-standing trend of the league growing revenue pretty significantly every single year, save for the COVID-affected seasons of 2020 and 2021. Going back to 2014, MLB has increased revenues from a reported $9 billion to $12.1 billion, meaning there’s been more than 33% growth in 10 years.
The release of this report comes on the heels of Orioles owner David Rubenstein, who is worth an estimated $4.1 billion, saying he wishes MLB would have a salary cap “the way other sports do.” The MLB Players Association has long insisted they will never agree to a cap.
League-wide attendance last season topped 71 million fans and was the highest MLB has seen since 2017. Attendance had dropped each year from 2012-19 and now has rebounded with increases in 2023 and 2024 as the league recovers from the pandemic.
None of this suggests the league is void of issues, but the financial bottom line for the league as a whole is incredibly healthy and shows an upward trend, no matter what billionaire owners want to tell you.
