Because Atlanta Braves Holdings Inc., is a publicly-traded company, their obligatory financial reports provide an annual peek into the Braves’ business dealings, and Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shared the details of the company’s disclosure earlier this week. ABH Inc. reported $641MM in revenue in 2023 from the Braves and the associated ballpark village next to Truist Park known as The Battery Atlanta — this figure represents a sizable jump from the $589MM in revenues from 20222. Between Truist Park’s opening in 2017 and the success of the Battery as an attraction outside of just Braves gamedays, the Braves have seen revenues soar from $262MM in 2016 to last year’s $641MM number, with only a dip in 2020 due to the pandemic.
However, ABH Inc. still reported an overall operating loss of $46MM for 2023. As per the team statement, baseball-related operating costs “increased primarily due to higher player salaries, including offseason trade activity in the fourth quarter, as well as increases under MLB’s revenue sharing plan.” The operating profit for 2023 stood at $38MM, but dropped into the red due to $13MM drops for stock-based compensation and $71MM in depreciation and amortization. (Tucker notes that “large deductions for depreciation and amortization are believed to be common for MLB teams.”)
The revenue increase has gone hand-in-hand with a big increase in the Braves’ payroll, as Atlanta is set to far exceed its club-record $205MM payroll from 2023. The Braves are currently projected (as per RosterResource) for a payroll close to $228MM and a luxury tax number of $270MM. After paying into the tax for the first time last season, the Braves have now gone well beyond the initial CBT threshold, as their projected $270.3MM tax number is now approaching the third penalization tier of $277MM. The front office’s aggressive strategy of locking up star players to extensions has both increased spending but also built a powerhouse team that is expected to again contend for a World Series title.
Some more items from around the NL East…
- Nationals outfield prospect Daylen Lile was stretchered off the field in a scary incident in today’s Spring Training game. While attempting to catch a home run, Lile went over the right field fence and took a bad landing, drawing immediate calls for medical attention from Red Sox pitchers in the bullpen. Lile reportedly gave a thumbs up while being removed from the field, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, the 21-year-old Lile missed all of the 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and is ranked by Baseball America as the 11th-best prospect in Washington’s farm system. [UPDATE: Manager Davey Martinez told Janes and other reporters that Lile will undergo a CAT scan. Lile apparently landed hard on his lower back after his fall, but was able to move his feet.]
- Jeff McNeil is dealing with some left biceps soreness and won’t hit for a few days, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post). McNeil is still able to participate in fielding drills since he throws with his right arm, though his left arm continues to be a concern given how McNeil has a partially torn left UCL. The thought was that McNeil would be fine after an offseason of recovery rather than surgery, and a biceps issue doesn’t necessarily hint at any further UCL damage. The former NL batting champion and two-time All-Star is looking to bounce back from an underwhelming .270/.333/.378 slash line over 648 plate appearances in 2023.
- Marlins manager Skip Schumaker provided media (including the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson and MLB.com) with some updates on starters Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers. Garrett has been dealing with soreness in his left shoulder for a couple of weeks but has been throwing bullpen sessions and is on “normal progression now” towards throwing a live batting practice, Schumaker said. Rogers is tentatively scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut in a 20-pitch outing on Tuesday, as the Marlins have been building him slowly in camp in the aftermath of an injury-riddled 2023 season. Rogers threw a live batting practice session on Thursday that left Schumaker impressed, as the southpaw “was throwing 93-94 mph in a setting with not much adrenaline.”
If the plant ye wish to flee, go to Sector 7B.
NASDAQ “BATRA” up 21.51% in the past year.
Stock compensation, depreciation, amortization and increase to value of team (stock) if sold.
Bottom line, they are a big spending, well-run team, did not lose money, and significantly increased in vaue.
“To overcome the spider’s curse, simply quote a Bible verse.”
The tax scams being run by mlb teams are sad and hilarious at the same time.
$71 mil in deprecation!! Like good attorneys good accountants can make you money. Can’t imagine what is going on in places like Pittsburgh with this type of accounting smoke and mirrors
“Tax scams being run”…Why don’t you enlighten the rest of us by explaining the U.S tax code and how teams are “scamming” the U.S treasury? And it’s pretty sad for someone to disparage others without proof and yet not allow people to respond directly to them due to being afraid. You’re like the little rich kid that talks shick when he’s on the other side of a security fence, right fffbbb?
One way is that they get bonds to cover their stadiums. These bonds are federally tax exempt. So, they are getting taxpayer money for free. Sounds scammy to me.
Now if these bonds were left to public vote then it wouldn’t be. But, they aren’t. Which is suspicious.
Not for free unless you are exempting taxes from employee salaries that are in the stadium, construct the stadium, cost to maintain the stadium, the increase in revenue that is taxed around the stadium, the taxes the players pay, etc etc. This is why everyone laughed at NY after they scared off amazon because they were getting “Free taxes money”
In the end, those bonds given usually generate more taxes overall than the value of the bonds than if they let the team go elsewhere. The only way it doesnt is if they leave early and if they do it would be breeching contract and they can sue to get back the remaining value along with potentially expected tax dollars depending on laws.
The majority of economists disagree with that assertion.
Also they pay such low wages then force their employees to collect unemployment and other govt subsidies in the offseason.
@donk
they do not let the stadiums sit empty and in the “offseason (depends on the stadium obviously as you cant have a taylor swift concert in the middle of winter in outdoor stadium) they will have events and shows there to increase revenue for the team which increases taxes for the county. So even if it isnt the people working for the team there is money being made and being taxed at the stadium.
Also minimum wage is on the rise and depending on the state especially for construction they have to do prevailing wages for a job and that is a state mandate regardless of bond. There are contingencies like this usually built into the contract and if they dont that would be on the people the taxpayers elected from public votes. Just like big companies that invest in buildings in major cities must be at a certain capacity to receive tax breaks. Its why so many companies are having people return to work under the guise it is “team building”
Can you also show where the majority of these economists say this as you said majority say it so should be easy to find? As i can point to the projections of amazon which multiple and if i remember correctly majority of economists pointed how incredibly bad that was.for the city As well as many companies that moved from state to state as well as a pharm company that just moved counties within the state that this happened.
I have worked for multiple sports franchises, and they aren’t empty. However one maybe two events a week in the offseason doesn’t justify the Walmart approach to employment.
Also I won’t show you anything. I have done reports on this subject. There are numerous sources out there. If you actually wanted to understand you’d research yourself. You don’t actually want to research, so I won’t be doing that for you.
So what your saying is “Of course i know (but really dont) but why dont you tell me so i can confirm” … Got it
i pointed out examples including one that points directly against your “majority” argument so i have proven i know about them while you have said generals which is saying eggs are bad for you. Working for multiple franchises could mean you could be the popcorn thrower at different stadiums. Maybe your Jerry from section 92 that took great care of us at the Orioles game. Even hooked us up with some crackers jacks but i digress.
I work in investments and see data all day long as we have to do surveys and data analytics and predictive modeling for potential ROI and AOIs to make sure we making money. If you need a hand in the research go check out AWS you can use the service to help get all the data sorted from the “majority of economists” together” and see actual numbers.
Actually you’re incorrect. If I was a “popcorn thrower” I would work for Aramark or another food service. Working for the franchise means actually worked for the owners of that team.
I don’t care where you work. You don’t analyze public funding and the ROI on them. Because public funding shouldn’t be based on ROI and it rarely is. If it was such a great thing then why not open it up to public votes and not city council decisions?
@donk
Actually some are owned by the franchises like Legendary Hospitality which is owned by the yankees and cowboys so they work for Jerry Jones and the Steinbrenners. I guess you could be from the mailroom then?
In the end I also dont care where you work either but you brought it into the conversation. But what reason does a person that works for the franchise in any capacity have to look at anything for tax payer funding?. I dont think Cashman or even Steinbrenner really cares how much the city spent on building the stadium or any money the city made.
My job has multiple reasons to look at clients, their investment and what they are involved in from a legal / regulatory / potential investment point. We do not want to lose money, get caught in legal actions or take PR hits costing us business. Also the increase in sales for companies like Trane and Ingersoll-Rand who sell construction equipment and products and increasing revenue could increasing returns in a portfolio.
I guess you must build it for them to come right? So yeah taxpayer dollars subsidize the stadium but they in turn get a pro team in their city and many jobs are created. I’m sure the tax on the booze and food sales alone add quite a bit to the pot to make sure there are things in town getting taken care of…..
I’m not sure how people don’t realize their property tax is like 0.81% and income taxes is like 1-5.75% is a bigger burden on the State than anything a baseball team is doing. It’s most certainly obvious the Braves aren’t taken much of anything out of the pockets of the populace.
“large deductions for depreciation and amortization are believed to be common for MLB teams.”
Yep, this is why owning a baseball team is a cash cow. You “lose” money every year, yet the team just gets more and more valuable. Works great even for a moron like John Fisher.
You may not be familiar with all the rules around this. You can’t just take depreciation changes indefinitely. It’s not a way to hide gains. It does spread the cost of an asset over time and defers taxes. So, clearly it’s advantageous.
This stuff isn’t straightforward. The above reported figures are gains/losses from operations. This does not factor in gains or losses from financing activities. Taking a peek at their financials, they had interest expenses of around $37.6M to cite another important element of a firm’s activities. That’s not factored into the above article.
I’m not a CPA, I’m not an investment advisor, but I am saying that there’s a lot more to it.
It’s wizardly and I gave up trying to master it awhile ago. The funny thing is I have a business degree.
Help me out as I’m not someone who is very knowledgeable when it comes to financial matters. I get that the team’s value keeps increasing. However, how does that help you make money now? In other words, when sold your return against your initial investment is huge. But if you never sell, where is your profit?;Do owners just borrow against that value?
Depreciation is the only reason farmers ever make money. I inherited an orange orchard and the first year my income was -$181,000. I made money and didn’t pay a dime in taxes other than property and fuel.
And that was all from depreciation.
It reminds me of something my mom told me once when she worked at a bank. She had a customer come in for a loan or account cant remember which. She is like how much do you make and he is like how much do i make on paper or how much do i actually make.
Its similar to the gig economy. I tested this myself years ago. You barely make enough to scrape by on it depending on how much you do (i was part time maybe 15-20 hours a week) and maybe walked away with a around 15 an hour depending on tips (some nights i walked away with no trips) but Its the write offs on taxes where you make back. The mileage reimbursement alone was more than i made than from the company itself. Especially if you can do the basics yourself like oil changes and brakes and detailing and such as the mileage is for wear and tear and depreciations of the vehicle and have assumed costs.
I blame Ozuna. In fact, I blame him for everything.
Even a broken analog clock is correct twice a day.
Sounds familiar. Confucius or Socrates?
Have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?
Morons.
I have heard of Morons
@Monroe_says….”Large deductions for depreciation”…I guess you didn’t know that millions of Americans take a “depreciation” expense for their real estate(homes) and private holdings. And I guess you also do not know this is a perfectly legal tax strategy.
MLB teams reporting profit is similar to the movie industry. Revenue can increase, but profits seem to disappear.
I should say that the Yankees look pretty sick so far. But it’s only ST. Let’s not get too excited. Danny Burgers is going to get drilled. Or they’re gonna drill Vlad. Bat flip and slow trip in ST? Man that guy has it coming. Gonna get his teammates hurt.
Why wont the cursed mets trade off alonso, mcneil, nimmo, all the vets they dont need? Get some young pieces. Mets have loaded farm, if they dont f up any more careers they might have a chance sometime around 2027
For the Mets and many other teams there’s more money to be made just playing than playing to win it all. It’s very expensive to play to win it all.
Sooner than that.
The Mets don’t have even one prospect with a solid chance of showing at the major league level in 2024 he should be inked into the lineup for 2025.
Call 2024 their ‘gap’ year.
No 60 FV prospects in the system. No 55’s, either. Acuna nearly flatlined. No pitchers who’ll change the rotation. Above Rookie ball there’s more quantity than quality. Prospects who need 2-3 years to make an impact, if they ever do. They also have the shortest collection of FV 50 prospects in baseball. That’s… well, it’s not good.
The good news is they’re well-stocked with passable MIRP prospects for the foreseeable future. Bright side!
But only a fan of the team can look at this collection and see other than a whole lot of Maybe.
@Johnny utah It’s not actually a ‘loaded farm,’ my friend. It’s a pretty good farm, with no studs, no Corbin Carrolls, barely anyone in the top 50, and no one who just came off a good year at AAA.
Heck, do they have anyone who just put in a full season, a stud’s year at ***AA***?
Doesnt really account the revenue they might have been counting on the braves didnt make it out of the 1st round of the playoffs and deeper into the post season or food prices raised but less food sales and the expected revenue from the all star game..
just so you know –
depreciation expense is, generally, the methodology for deducting an actual large expense made in year 1, over the several years later. It does NOT defer taxes. Because one is not allowed to deduct the full cost of a large purchased asset at time of purchase (a 300 million $ building, let us say) depreciation allows for the expensing of that building over time. Entity still SPENT the 300 m,, but can’t deduct the full amount in the purchase year, but has to spread it out over 5, 7, 20, however many years IRS requires for an asset class. Therefore, entity is paying MORE in tax up front
The Braves are one of the few teams that are obligated to make their books public. They’re not really in a position to try and pull of financial shenanigans like Frank McCourt did with the Dodgers.
I was watching the game where that Lile injury occurred. One of the scarier injury events I’ve seen on a baseball field in a while.
Freddie would have stayed if they had sweetened the deal enough for him.
Shame they let him go
Freddie didnt even know atl made an offer. He fired his agents bec they withheld that from him
McNeil was wrecked by injuries for almost two years during his milb career.
I wonder if that’s catching up with him.
It’s not a serious injury. He’s still participating in defensive drills.
Understood, comrade, but his early injuries were so serious he played all of 51 games at ages 24 and 25, combined.
He’s only been healthy in the majors at ages 30 and 31, and for two of the last three years his play has been awful, by his standards. He didn’t just forget how to hit in 2021 and 2023 then win a batting title in 2022 because he was ‘seeing the ball’ well, for some reason.
Something’s wrong.
The Mets also seem brainless in this regard. Fragile player entering his twilight years—already there, in fact, given his 2021 and 2023 performance. But they keep running him out there for 150 games—just as if the Wilpons still owned the team—instead of the 130 he’s built for. I think we’ve seen the last of Squirrel as anything like a 5-win player, unless Stearns recognizes where he is and paces him.
But he won’t, because the Mets’ bench is so bad he’ll figure that Bad Squirrel is better than Best Wendle.
Are you really Joe Beningo? I ask because the irrational negativity is making a response not really worth the time.
baseball-reference.com/players/m/mcneije01.shtml Show me where he was injured in his first 2 years. 2020 was a 60 game season. He played 52 of those games. Anyone who has watched McNeil play KNOWS he isn’t the least bit fragile.
Garrett and Rogers should be fine. But if they’re not, for some reason, we still have plenty of talented young guns in the minors who could step up. The Marlins haven’t done well in the drafting and development of position players over the last five seasons. But pitchers? That’s an entirely different story.