Royals move up one spot in Forbes’ list of Major League Baseball team valuations

Pete Grathoff
·2 min read
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Kansas City Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman, right, spoke at a public meeting about a proposed downtown ballpark district.

There wasn’t much to like about the 2022 Royals season as they won just 65 games and finished last in the American League Central.

Despite that, the value of the Royals increased 8% to $1.2 billion, according to Forbes’ team valuations of all 30 Major League Baseball teams.

The Royals ranked 27th on the list, which was released last week. That’s one spot higher than a year earlier.

Forbes found the Royals had $260 million in revenue, an operating income of $33 million and $54 million in gate receipts a year ago.

The Royals’ plan to move into a downtown stadium is noted by Forbes, which also mentioned the uncertainty surrounding broadcaster Bally Sports Kansas City.

“Among the league’s 30 teams, geography and regional sports network economics played pivotal roles in our valuations, especially with the recent bankruptcy filing of Diamond Sports Group, which has the local media rights to 14 of MLB’s 30 teams,” the authors wrote.

Because of the bankruptcy, six of the teams that have contracts with Diamond had their valuation remain the same as a year ago.

Forbes said the Yankees raked in $143 million in cable money in 2022 via the YES Network, Forbes said. By contrast, the Royals were paid $45 million by Diamond Sports Group, the magazine reported.

Here is the entire list of Major League Baseball team valuations, and the Yankees are ranked first by a country mile.

  1. New York Yankees: $7.1 billion

  2. Los Angeles Dodgers: $4.8 billion

  3. Boston Red Sox: $4.5 billion

  4. Chicago Cubs: $4.1 billion

  5. San Francisco Giants: $3.7 billion

  6. New York Mets: $2.9 billion

  7. Los Angeles Angels: $2.7 billion

  8. Atlanta Braves: $2.6 billion

  9. Philadelphia Phillies: $2.575 billion

  10. St. Louis Cardinals: $2.55 billion

  11. Houston Astros: $2.25 billion

  12. Texas Rangers: $2.225 billion

  13. Seattle Mariners: $2.2 billion

  14. Toronto Blue Jays: $2.1 billion

  15. Chicago White Sox: $2.05 billion

  16. Washington Nationals: $2 billion

  17. San Diego Padres: $1.75 billion

  18. Baltimore Orioles: $1.713 billion

  19. Milwaukee Brewers: $1.605 billion

  20. Colorado Rockies: $1.475 billion

  21. Detroit Tigers: $1.45 billion

  22. Minnesota Twins: $1.39 billion

  23. Arizona Diamondbacks: $1.38 billion

  24. Pittsburgh Pirates: $1.32 billion

  25. Cleveland Guardians: $1.3 billion

  26. Tampa Bay Rays: $1.25 billion

  27. Royals: $1.2 billion

  28. Cincinnati Reds: $1.19 billion

  29. Oakland Athletics: $1.18 billion

  30. Miami Marlins: $1 billion