The Atlanta Braves are one of the premier teams in Major League Baseball and are one of the most recognizable brands in the sport. They are also one of the most profitable since their move from downtown Atlanta to Cobb County.
A recent ranking of the 100 most valuable sports teams in the world was released by Sportico. The Braves were featured on their list but they are lower than fans expected them to be. Atlanta is ranked
78th which is up 24% from last year's valuation with a total value of $3.4 billion. It's understandable why the Braves aren't listed in the top 25, but being ranked 78th is a tad perplexing.
Braves are undervalued in ranking of world's most valuable sports franchises
The Braves generated $262 million in revenue in 2016 during their last season at Turner Field. Since then, revenue has only increased each season (the 2020 season is the exception due to the shortened season. They generated $386 million in 2017, $442 million in 2018, $476 million in 2019, $178 million in 2020, $568 million in 2021, $589 million in 2022, and $641 million in 2023. With the Q4 results being released this week, Atlanta increased revenue again in 2024 at $663 million.
Atlanta's franchise value has risen $900 million over the last three years. According to Sport Business Journal, their revenue has grown twice as fast as the average MLB team over the last decade,
A lot of that has come from the team winning the World Series in 2021 and the massive success of The Battery, which revolutionized the baseball fan experience. Atlanta has ranked among the top five in home game attendance in each of the last four seasons, and fans recently voted Truist Park as the best MLB stadium for overall guest experience.
Not only that, the team is really good. For the Braves to be ranked as low as they are with the success they've had and be ranked 50 spots lower than the Falcons who have struggled to win games. The Braves have won a World Series and six division titles since moving to Truist Park. Yes, the NFL is "more valuable" as a league, but the discrepancy is a bit much here.
Atlanta has also been getting great revenue from their TV contract which is one of the few that has survived the Diamond Sports catastrophe. Their broadcasting revenue, including both national and local streams, is listed at $166 million for 2024, a $5MM increase from last year.
That revenue will likely increase again in 2025 as the Braves and FanDuel Sports Network introduce a direct-to-consumer streaming option. This makes the game even more accessible to one of baseball's largest territories which spans six states.
Atlanta is definitely undervalued on this list but, at the end of the day, they are one of the most successful franchises in baseball and that's enough to be thankful for as a fan. These rankings are just rankings and don't actually matter all that much in the grand scheme of thing.