On August 12, 2026 the Los Angeles Lakers sold for $12.5b. It was a crazy transaction, but the Lakers are one of the premier franchises in one of the premier markets in all sports world. If any team was going to fetch that price, it’s the Lakers, right? Well, what about the Yankees? What about the Dodgers? They are just as premier as the Lakers, play more games every season, and get substantially better attendance. Could they garner a $12.5b sale price?
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MLB Lockout Countdown
Forbes doesn’t think so. They see the Yankees as the most valuable baseball team at $8.5b with the Dodgers next at $7.8b. The Lakers are only 3rd in their NBA valuations behind the Warriors at $13.5b and the Knicks at $12.6b. The Yankees had been in the top 2 of most valuable franchises in professional sports worldwide forever but dropped down to nearly out of the Top 10 this year. It wasn’t always like this.
The NBA had a lockout back in 2011. At the time, players were making about 57% of basketball revenue with their salary cap. The Owners didn’t like this. They ended up settling at between 49% and 51% depending on some variables. At the time, the Knicks were valued at an NBA leading $655m. That would have ranked 9th in MLB that same year. The average NBA team value in 2011 was $393m compared to $605m for MLB teams. One year after the lockout was settled, NBA franchise values jumped 30% to $509m and haven’t stopped jumping since then.
In fact, NBA franchise values jumped so much with this new business model that by 2019, the NBA topped MLB for the first time in average value $1.9b to $1.7b. MLB Owners were already contemplating what to do about this and locked out the players at the first chance they got in 2021. Considering the Owners just lost a bunch of revenue due to COVID, they were quick to get back on the field but were already publicly stating that the next lockout would be bigger.
Today, the average NBA franchise is worth $6.64b with new expansion franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle likely to gain entrance with a $10b+ fee. MLB franchise values have increased, but nowhere near the exponential growth of the NBA. The average team value is half that of the NBA at $3.17b with new expansion fees likely to be around $3b each.
I’m just some dipshit blogger, but even I can tell that MLB owners do not like this. They were on top for years while the NBA floundered (obviously, the NFL is king). Once the NBA found a model that would guarantee that there was no possible way for their teams to lose money, spend too much, or decrease in value no matter how many mistakes they made, other billionaires saw the league as a much safer investment. MLB wants this idiot-proof security and they think a Salary Cap and 50% revenue split is the way to do it. They are probably right.
Is there anything wrong with wanting to guarantee a profit? No! However, don’t fool yourselves into believing the talking points. This was never about competitive balance. It was always about making their teams as valuable as possible.
Also, what’s in it for the players? Do they get any part of that increased franchise value? They obviously do not get more money for having a salary cap. So why should they ever agree to this if there is nothing it for them?
Other MLB Lockout Reading:
Curt Flood Doesn’t Go to Philadelphia
Andy Messersmith, the Most Important Ball Player You’ve Never Heard Of
Sources: Forbes, MLBTradeRumors, FinancialSports.com
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