Liberty Media, the company that owns the Braves, is a publicly traded company. As a result, they are one of two teams (the Blue Jays being the other) whose books are open to the public. This morning, Liberty Media released its financial data for 2022. The full report is available courtesy of Investor Monitor and its history Doug Roberson from The Atlanta Journal.
According to the report, Liberty Media collected a record $588 million in Braves franchise-related revenue last year. That’s a $20 million jump from the franchise’s previous record set in 2021, which the company attributed to increased ticket demand and additional retail in the wake of the Atlanta World Series.
On the other hand, franchise operating income before debt and amortization (OIBDA) decreased compared to last season. Its OIBDA of $71 million was down from last year’s figure of $104 million. The company reported an operating loss of $15 million after reporting $20 million in operating income during the previous season. However, these numbers do no It includes revenue from Battery Atlanta, a mixed-use development complex adjacent to Truist Park and owned by Liberty Media. Liberty Media reported $28 million in additional net operating income and $53 million in total revenue related to this project.
In terms of numbers relating to the Braves franchise specifically, Liberty Media attributed the relatively lower OIBDA and operating income to higher revenue sharing expenses and higher player payroll. In fact, Atlanta’s opening day payroll came in at about $178 million in 2022 from about $131 million in 2021. According to Cot.
However, another significant change to the organization between 2021-22 was the club’s post-season fortune. Naturally, the Braves won the championship the previous season and took advantage of their eight home playoff appearances. Their defeat in the NL Division Series last year kept them in two home contests for the postseason. As a result, Liberty Media reported a significant decrease in fourth-quarter revenue in 2022 compared to the previous season. With the exception of repeat World Series series, playoff-related income associated with the franchise has always seemed to be declining.
The Braves are coming out of a pretty quiet place, at least from a free agent perspective. Atlanta got the catcher Shaun Murphy He promptly signed him to a six-year, $73 million extension. This was their only investment of note abroad. The club’s only other major league acquisitions were the tranquilizers Joe Jimenez And Lucas Lutge (combined $4.315 million in arbitration salaries), low-cost free agent deals for players Jordan Lublo ($1.4 million) and Redeemer Nick Anderson (875 thousand dollars if in majors) and trades for players before arbitration such as Eli White And Sam Hilliard.
Atlanta saw a senior free agent leave for the second straight season, and he’s watching Dansby Swanson She signed with the Cubs a year later Freddie Freeman He went to the Dodgers. Despite a fairly quiet winter, they are easily on track again for a high franchise in player spending. The Braves will go into 2023 with a payroll in the $199 million range, according to the calculation list resource. The expected luxury tax figure is just under $240 million, which would exceed this year’s baseline threshold of $233 million. It looks like the franchise is ready to pay the luxury tax for the first time in Liberty Media’s tenure of ownership.
This is a reflection of the staggering number of contracts already on the books, many of them extensions early in the career. No other organization has had the same kind of success in signing key players to long-term deals so soon after their MLB debut. These types of agreements tend to be back-loaded to roughly reflect how a player’s earnings may progress via arbitration. Not coincidentally, Atlanta already has over $90 million in the books for the 2028 campaign.
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