The average Major League Baseball team is worth $2.62 billion, according to CNBC’s official MLB valuations.
The New York Yankees, worth $8 billion, are MLB’s most valuable team, according to CNBC’s valuations. Among all North American sports franchises, the Yankees rank behind only the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys, worth $11 billion, and the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors, worth $9.4 billion, according to CNBC’s valuations. The NFL’s Los Angeles Rams are also valued at $8 billion, according to CNBC’s calculations.
After adjusting for revenue sharing, the Yankees posted an MLB-high $705 million in revenue during the 2024 season, according to CNBC’s calculations.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, worth $5.8 billion, are the second-most-valuable baseball team. The Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions, generated $701 million in revenue during the 2024 season, according to CNBC’s calculations, even after, according to industry sources, the team paid more than $120 million in revenue sharing. The Dodgers were also the only other team besides the Yankees to generate more than $600 million in revenue during the 2024 season, according to CNBC’s calculations.
The average MLB team has an enterprise value-to-sales multiple of 6.4, versus 10.1 for the NFL, 11.9 for the NBA and 8.6 for the National Hockey League, according to CNBC’s calculations.
The multiple is lower for baseball because MLB teams have been changing hands at lower revenue multiples than other U.S. leagues. The last MLB team that sold was the Baltimore Orioles, which in 2024 went for $1.73 billion, or just 5.3 times revenue, according to people familiar with the deal who declined to be identified discussing the terms.
In 2023, the NFL’s Washington Commanders were sold for $6.05 billion, or 11.1 times revenue, according to CNBC’s calculations. The most recent NBA team to change hands was the Dallas Mavericks, which in 2023 went for $3.33 billion, or 8.9 times revenue, according to CNBC’s calculations.
MLB has been facing revenue headwinds from the decline of the regional sports network model and concerns about national TV rights, particularly since February, when ESPN announced it would opt out of its agreement with MLB after this season. A lack of a salary cap in the league has also hurt the bottom line. The NBA, NFL and NHL, all of which have salary caps, boast margins for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of about 20%. In contrast, MLB, which does not have a salary cap, has an EBITDA margin of 5%, according to CNBC’s calculations.
The case can be made that baseball is a value play. Overall revenue is still growing, according to the MLB. During the 2024 season, the sport’s revenue hit a record $12.1 billion — $500 million more than the previous season — as attendance, ticket sales and sponsorship revenue all reached record highs.
International prospects are also bright. The two-game series played in Japan in March between the Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs to start the 2025 regular season was a major success. MLB revenue could grow around 3% in 2025, according to industry sources.
“Local media headwinds are undeniable,” said Steve Greenberg, a managing director at Allen & Company who focuses on the sports and media industries. “That said, I feel that MLB has been undervalued versus other leagues and may be poised to close the gap.”