Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports
That’s right…$2.5 BILLION.
I suppose you could file this under the rich get richer.
Source: Phillies' 25-year TV rights deal with Comcast SportsNet is worth $2.5 billion in addition to an equity stake and some ad revenue.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) January 3, 2014
So the Philadelphia Phillies not only get $2.5B, but they also gain an equity stake AND ad revenue?
Not too hard to determine that the Phillies will not benefit from $100MM per year in this deal. According to Kevin Cooney of the Bucks County Courier Times, the Phillies are currently receiving $35MM per year. Philly will now almost triple their yearly take from TV revenue. This does not include the additional windfall to be gained from new contracts with ESPN, FOX and TBS.
The Phillies 2014 payroll currently shows the club is committed to a little less than $142MM. This is according to Cot’s. There’s still the issue of players due arbitration raises and those that are to be tendered a contract as part of the pre-arb process.
This new deal does not start until the 2016 season. Until then, the Phillies must suffer getting only $35MM from its TV deal for the next two years.
Nielsen’s 2013-2014 DMA reveals that Philadelphia is the fourth largest market in the US. Only New York, Los Angeles and Chicago rank higher.