Baseball has never been short of cash. In fact, it’s one of the most cash-rich sports on the planet. In 2024 alone, it hit a record $12.1 billion in revenue, and that figure is only going to rise, breaking records as it does.
One of the main reasons for that is that there are still many untapped opportunities for the league to grow and boost revenue significantly.
Over the next five years, we can anticipate even more tactics the MLB will utilise to increase revenue, both on a league and franchise level, from creating new partnerships with growing industries in the US, such as the rise of cryptocurrency or the ever-growing number of casino sites. In fact, the latter is already an industry that many of the major leagues are aggressively approaching for sponsorships, from sportsbooks to free casino slots sites. But what else can Major League Baseball do to increase its revenue over the next five years?
We delve into some of the bigger opportunities…
Monetise streaming and digital rights more aggressively
The demand for streaming has surged hugely in recent years, and MLB.TV’s viewing figures are hitting all-time high Dynamic pricing has caused controversy in recent years, particularly in the music industry, but it is something that can increase revenue for teams and is an option, albeit maybe an unpopular one.
What isn’t unpopular, though, is improving the ballpark experience and investing in fan-facing tech, in-seat ordering, better Wi-Fi and various premium offerings will only make the product of MLB more appealing and as a result something we’d be more willing to pay a higher price for.
Boost sponsorship and brand partnerships through tailored inventory
Finally, moving away from the one-size-fits-all approach is going to be crucial for attracting more revenue for both the league and individual franchises.
Sponsorship income for baseball clubs has climbed substantially in recent years. To sustain and expand that trend, MLB should productise sponsorship inventory into measurable, outcome-oriented packages: short-form video series tied to team stories, official data feeds for partner activations, in-game audience-insight dashboards, and integrated campaigns spanning broadcast, social and park experiences. Creating standardised, scalable sponsorship tiers will make it easier for both global and regional brands to invest.
By offering packages that guarantee impressions, engagement rates and targeted audiences, MLB can command higher fees. Additionally, co-created content, for example, a sponsor-backed highlights show or original documentary shorts, multiplies monetisable touchpoints across platforms.
This is a massive opportunity for them, with the ability to create tiered, direct-to-consumer products, with various degrees of advertising, subscription levels and things like multi-view, advanced stats and so on.
We’ve seen this type of tiered system work with the likes of Amazon and Disney+. There’s no reason it couldn’t be just as successful for sports too, with even the opportunity to sell targeted sponsorships and adverts within the streaming platforms, such as with stat overlay segments.
Expand and internationalise the product
Actually, the appetite for MLB has expanded way beyond North America. There have been moves into various countries as part of the international series, and the opportunity to profit from that will only continue through the likes of broadcast deals, sponsorships, merchandise and more. Viewers are keen to see their favourite players and the best base-stealers who make some magnificent plays.
By creating larger-scale international deals with brands, there’s less of a reliance on more localized packages, and the sums of money are much larger.
Deepen partnerships with regulated betting operators
We’ve already touched on gambling income being a rich source of income, and it has already become an important stream of income for MLB. However, there’s still a lot more potential too.
With sportsbooks, there’s the opportunity for in-app integrations around odds and various markets, co-branded content and data licensing, while if you look at other sports, such as soccer in the UK, every team has a betting partner, casino partner, bingo partner and so on. In fact, it’s worth a huge amount to both teams and gambling companies alike. The BBC reported that during the opening weekend of the last Premier League season, gambling adverts were shown 29,000 times, while shirt sponsorship alone with gambling brands was worth over £150 million. It’s helped revolutionise many sporting leagues around the world, and it can have an even bigger impact on MLB over the coming years.
