But, MLB franchises have losses of, “of biblical proportions.” At least that is what Tom Ricketts wants you to believe. He wants fans to believe that the Cubs are cash broke and cannot possibly afford nice things. But, Forbes has recently rated the Chicago Cubs as the fourth most valuable franchise in baseball and the 22nd most valuable sports organization in the world.
Here are the most valuable MLB franchises, according to @Forbes 💰 pic.twitter.com/vTCn0QU4Rx
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 11, 2021
Now, yes… the Cubs had a high payroll over the past several years and dumped a ton of money into the renovations of Wrigley Field (or leveraged money). Yes, they kinda got their hands caught in the cookie jar when the pandemic hit. Yes, the Cubs had profits not realized due to those factors and with the less than stellar launch of Marquee Sports Network.
But here we are, staring at an organization worth an estimated $3.36 billion, which is an increase of 5% YOY. (Please note, no one actually knows exact value as MLB teams often block or don’t disclose all revenues).
YES! After a year of “losses of biblical proportions” the Cubs actually increased their value.
I have been calling ownership out on this for several years now. They are completely hell-bent on selling fans that you’re broke. The only thing is Mr. Ricketts, we’re smarter than what you give us credit for. This isn’t the 1985, Tribune-owned team that had gullible fans flooding the turnstiles in the friendly confines at 1:20 on a Wednesday. We have evolved. We have information at our fingertips. You don’t get to run the organization as a corporate entity the way the Tribune did. You are the one that put faces on the ownership group and YOU are the one that sat there and claimed you were a fan and met your wife in the bleachers and all that salesmanship garbage. You were also the one that sold buying the Cubs to your dad, telling him that we’ll fill the ballpark regardless of the product.
What, you don’t remember this Tommy boy?
“My son Tom called me and said ‘Dad, the Tribune has just changed hands. They own the Cubs, and they’re going to be selling the Cubs, so we ought to get ready to buy them.’” Joe Ricketts explained while on a business panel.
“I said ‘Now you’re talking about a business. Now you’ve got my interest.’ So we went down the road to buy the Cubs.”
Yes, nothing he said wasn’t true, but it is the foundation for whatever is next. Whether that is continuing to lowball current stars, putting a less-than-stellar product on the field and expecting fans to bankroll the next several years, or maybe their intention is to build things up a bit more and just sell the club. Essentially house flipping the Cubs organization just like Christina and Tarek would on Flip or Flop.
Thing is, this isn’t the old house on the end of the road in an up-and-coming neighborhood. This is the Chicago Freaking Cubs. The Ricketts didn’t buy the Pirates, they didn’t buy the Royals, they didn’t buy the Rays. They bought an organization, that when you use the revenues the fans bring in appropriately, can ensure your team can build sustained success.
Now, we better not hear that the Cubs aren’t making progress towards signing extensions to any of their core players. While I know “value” isn’t cash in the bank, they still have plenty of funds in the bank and will have more money coming in with spectator rules opening up more as Illinois hits our “bridge” phases.
Accountability starts with the fans here.
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