Opening day in baseball has arrived, which means the 2021 MLB season is in full swing. With all 30 MLB ballparks allowing fans into the stands in some capacity this season, a new report looked back at the 2020 season to examine revenue loss across MLB.
Penn Bets estimated MLB revenue losses during the 2020 season for all 30 MLB teams based on average ticket price data and attendance figures from 2019, the last season MLB had full attendance.
Key findings from the report
- MLB lost an estimated $2,474,793,849 during the 2020 season due to no live attendance.
- The top 10 teams with the largest revenue losses account for more than half of the overall league losses, accounting for more than $1.3 billion in league live attendance revenue losses.
- Top teams with the largest estimated revenue losses during the 2020 season: 1. Los Angeles Dodgers 2. Chicago Cubs 3. Boston Red Sox 4. New York Yankees 5. Houston Astros.
The full rankings for revenue loss for every MLB team
Listed below are the full rankings for revenue loss for each MLB team based on the methodology outlined above:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $183,454,103.44
2. Chicago Cubs – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $179,099,837.55
3. Boston Red Sox – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $175,740,836.43
4. New York Yankees – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $171,201,171.24
5. Houston Astros – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $158,812,457.86
6. St. Louis Cardinals – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $124,145,618.31
7. Washington Nationals – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $107,249,206.26
8. San Francisco Giants – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $101,053,603.20
9. Philadelphia Phillies – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $98,296,252.84
10. Los Angeles Angels – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $93,471,469.20
11. Milwaukee Brewers – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $87,992,323.30
12. Atlanta Braves – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $81,744,986.80
13. Colorado Rockies – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $81,326,439.48
14. Texas Rangers – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $81,139,472.16
15. Minnesota Twins – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $75,225,244.08
16. New York Mets – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $67,413,883.20
17. Seattle Mariners – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $65,710,329.79
18. Cleveland Indians – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $54,176,084.72
19. San Diego Padres – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $52,984,381.89
20. Toronto Blue Jays – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $52,486,818.56
21. Kansas City Royals – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $46,979,173.25
22. Chicago White Sox – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $45,760,178.88
23. Arizona Diamondbacks – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $45,657,203.80
24. Cincinnati Reds – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $43,697,829.60
25. Detroit Tigers – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $42,505,483.30
26. Oakland Athletics – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $39,543,999.69
27. Baltimore Orioles – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $39,234,201.00
28. Pittsburgh Pirates – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $30,947,151.75
29. Tampa Bay Rays – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $29,433,012.95
30. Miami Marlins – Overall loss for the 2020 season - $18,311,086.14.
2020 MLB revenue losses per game
Not only did the analysis look at revenue loss for the entire season, but PA Bets also analyzed the revenue loss per game for each team in Major League Baseball. Listed below are the rankings for revenue loss by game.
1. Los Angeles Dodgers – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $2,264,840.40
2. Chicago Cubs – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $2,211,096.96
3. Boston Red Sox – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $2,169,609.54
4. New York Yankees – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $2,167,056,87
5. Houston Astros – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,960,640.08
6. St. Louis Cardinals – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,532,632.89
7. Washington Nationals – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,324,039.08
8. San Francisco Giants – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,247,570.28
9. Philadelphia Phillies – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,213,502.84
10. Los Angeles Angels – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,153,965.32
11. Milwaukee Brewers – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,086,309.00
12. Atlanta Braves – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,009,173.04
13. Colorado Rockies – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,004,013.01
14. Texas Rangers – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $1,001,707.32
15. Minnesota Twins – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $928,678,38
16. New York Mets – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $842,655.60
17. Seattle Mariners – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $811,213,74.
18. Cleveland Indians – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $685,769.28
19. San Diego Padres – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $654,124.35
20. Toronto Blue Jays – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $647,963.94
21. Kansas City Royals – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $587,216.25
22. Chicago White Sox – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $602,091.36
23. Arizona Diamondbacks – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $563,662.32
24. Cincinnati Reds – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $539,468.64
25. Detroit Tigers – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $531,293.77
26. Oakland Athletics – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $488,194.59
27. Baltimore Orioles – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $490,410.00
28. Pittsburgh Pirates – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $382,049.00
29. Tampa Bay Rays – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $367,907,98
30. Miami Marlins – Overall loss per game for the 2020 season - $226,061.12
As you can see the revenue loss both on a per game basis and for the complete 2020 season is high across major league baseball.
