Report: MLB generates record $9 billion in revenues for 2014
Major League Baseball's record-breaking salaries appear to be the result of an all-time high in revenues.
Forbes is reporting the league will count an estimated $9 billion in gross revenues for the 2014 calendar year, representing a 13 percent increase from 2013.
More from Forbes:
The reason for the increase? The league saw revenues double for new broadcast deals with their national network partners FOX, ESPN, and TBS that added an additional $788.3 million a year to the league’s coffers. Add that to additional local media rights deals such as the Los Angeles Dodgers (between $7 billion and $8 billion annually that sees over 30 percent distributed as revenue sharing), and multi-billion dollar deals for the Rangers, Angels, Mariners, Padres, Phillies, and soon-to-be Astros (the club is mired in restructuring their CSN Houston deal), and you get a significant bump.
The report also identifies the emergence of MLB Advanced Media as a streaming service provider as another reason for the boost in revenue. Forbes reports the media arm of the league could alone generate figures in excess of $1 billion annually.
Baseball's financial prosperity has resulted in several major deals already this offseason, including Giancarlo Stanton's record-breaking $325 million deal with the Miami Marlins.
For a year-by-year visual of MLB gross revenues, click here.
