Major League Baseball franchise values climbed 12% on average to $3.17 billion, marking the largest year-over-year gain since Sportico launched its baseball valuations in 2021. The rise comes despite mounting concerns over revenue disparity, regional sports network struggles and a potential labor stoppage that some warn could threaten the 2027 season.

The New York Yankees retained the top spot for the sixth consecutive year at $9.4 billion. The Los Angeles Dodgers narrowed the gap significantly, rising 17% to $9.05 billion. The Yankees held a 46% premium over the Dodgers in 2021; that margin has shrunk to just 4%.

The Dodgers generated $1.1 billion in gross revenue last year — a threshold previously reached only by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and LaLiga's Real Madrid. Shohei Ohtani, a two-time NL MVP who led the club to back-to-back World Series titles, has driven sponsorship revenue above $200 million. Dodger Stadium drew a franchise-record 4,012,470 fans in 2025.

The Toronto Blue Jays, who fell to the Dodgers in the World Series, saw their value jump 21% to $2.9 billion following a $300 million renovation of Rogers Centre.

The San Diego Padres represent baseball's most anticipated pending sale. Multiple billionaires have submitted initial bids, including Clearlake Capital co-founder Jose E. Feliciano, Everton and AS Roma owner Dan Friedkin and Golden State Warriors managing partner Joe Lacob. The team is expected to fetch more than $3 billion.

MLB's 30 clubs collectively generated an estimated $13.1 billion last year. Local cable revenue dropped roughly 10% amid ongoing regional sports network turmoil. Despite overall growth, MLB's value-to-revenue multiple of 7.2x still trails the NBA (13.5x), NFL (10.3x), MLS (9.2x) and NHL (8.4x).

2026 MLB Franchise Valuations via Sportico

1. New York Yankees: $9.4B (+12%)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: $9.05B (+17%)
3. Boston Red Sox: $6.65B (+10%)
4. Chicago Cubs: $6.48B (+14%)
5. San Francisco Giants: $4.36B (+4%)
6. Atlanta Braves: $4.11B (+11%)
7. Philadelphia Phillies: $3.75B (+11%)
8. Houston Astros: $3.65B (+7%)
9. New York Mets: $3.58B (+15%)
10. San Diego Padres: $3.1B (+34%)
11. St. Louis Cardinals: $3.03B (+7%)
12. Toronto Blue Jays: $2.9B (+21%)
13. Los Angeles Angels: $2.78B (+7%)
14. Texas Rangers: $2.77B (+12%)
15. Washington Nationals: $2.31B (+3%)
16. Seattle Mariners: $2.23B (+14%)
17. Detroit Tigers: $2.08B (+20%)
18. Chicago White Sox: $2.05B (+1%)
19. Athletics: $2.0B (+27%)
20. Milwaukee Brewers: $1.94B (+19%)
21. Baltimore Orioles: $1.91B (+5%)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks: $1.82B (+18%)
23. Minnesota Twins: $1.71B (+1%)
24. Tampa Bay Rays: $1.7B (+26%)
25. Colorado Rockies: $1.68B (+13%)
26. Cincinnati Reds: $1.67B (+8%)
27. Cleveland Guardians: $1.64B (+7%)
28. Kansas City Royals: $1.63B (+20%)
29. Pittsburgh Pirates: $1.58B (+14%)
30. Miami Marlins: $1.45B (+12%)