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2 days ago
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Yankees Early 2025 Ticket Sales Jump 14% to Top $226 Million
New York loves a winner. Fresh off their 41st pennant winning year, ticket sales for the New York Yankees in the first quarter jumped 13.9% over 2024, reaching $226.69 million for the year through March 31, according to a bond market disclosure. Advertisement More from In the same Jan. 1-March 31 period last year, the club logged $199 million in ticket and suite revenue. For the full 2024 season, including the playoffs, the Yankees ended up notching record ticket and suite sales of more than $411 million, although probably $30 million of that was refunded or rolled over by ticket holders for playoff games not played while defeating the Royals and Guardians in early playoff rounds. The team played all its home games in the World Series loss to the Dodgers. 'Please note that timing differences can have a significant impact on the comparison of financial data for the period ended March 31, 2025, as compared to the same period in 2024,' the Yankees stated in their ticket sales disclosure. 'Opening Day for the 2024 Regular Season was in Q2 2024 and in Q1 for 2025. In addition, the timing of season ticket payment plans was earlier in 2025 as compared to 2024.' A spokesperson for the club didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Advertisement While ticket plan payments and home games contribute to the variation—the Yankees had a home series against the Brewers in March, while they didn't have any March home games the prior season—historic ticket sale patterns suggest the Bronx Bombers are selling better than in past years. In early 2023 the club sold $208.5 million tickets in a period that had some payments and a home game earlier in the year than 2024, according to disclosures. And for the 2025 season, the Yankees compiled more advance ticket sales entering the calendar year and tallied more tickets in the first three months of this year, than they had for the same periods of the 2024 season. Those 2024 ticket sales were boosted by the late December acquisition of Juan Soto, who left the club as a free agent after last season to join the Mets. The presence of more premium seating and luxury suites in the current Yankee Stadium has been a boon for the franchise. In the last dozen years of the old Yankee Stadium, the club averaged $129 million in annual ticket sales. In the 16 full seasons at the current stadium, the Yankees have averaged $313 million in ticket revenue, according to data compiled by Sportico. Advertisement The Yankees periodically disclose ticket and suite sales revenue because those monies are a backstop source of income guaranteeing the municipal bonds used to construct the existing stadium, which opened in 2009. For that reason, the revenue figures don't include many other sources of team income, including broadcast, merchandise, concessions and parking revenue. Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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2 days ago
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Paul Skenes, Pirates Not Speaking Yet About Contract Extension
PHOENIX — The Pittsburgh Pirates are about to reach a crisis point when it comes to the future of the franchise. Do they sign stellar starting pitcher Paul Skenes, the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year, for at least five seasons to cover his pre-arbitration and arbitration years, or do they trade him before he even gets to that point? Advertisement More from If they don't trade or sign him, his price in each of his three arbitration years could prove to be very prohibitive for a franchise that has a $114.2 million payroll for tax purposes this season per Spotrac, which is 26th in Major League Baseball. That's the second-lowest payroll in the National League to Miami's $85.2 million. Skenes, who is earning a second-year minimum salary of $875,000 this season, has not yet held contract talks with the Pirates, the right-hander said after earning the win in a 10-1 drubbing of the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at Chase Field. 'That hasn't happened,' Skenes, the No. 1 draft pick from 2023 out of LSU, said. 'This is about the here and now. I'm not in any rush for a decision to be made like that. I don't think they are, either.' Advertisement Skenes is this decade's Gerrit Cole, as far as the Pirates are concerned. Cole was picked first overall by the Pirates in the 2011 draft and was ultimately traded to the Houston Astros in 2018 before he could reach free agency—something that still irks Cole. The right-handed pitcher went on to sign a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in 2019; he is out this season and into next after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. That deal was way too rich for Pittsburgh's blood then, and it certainly would be even at half that amount now. Skenes, turning 23 on Thursday, is constrained by the early restrictions the collective bargaining agreement places on young players. Even Detroit's Tarik Skubal, who won the American League Cy Young Award last year, is a little more advanced, making $10.15 million this year after signing a one-year contract to avoid arbitration. He has one more year of arbitration before heading into free agency in 2027. Skenes? 'I'm tied up until 2030, I think,' the Pirates ace said. And already the trade rumors are rolling. Does he pay any attention to all that? Advertisement 'What trade rumors?' he said. 'I don't think any of that is for real.' But unless the Pirates make a contractual overture, the rumors will persist. One would think it would be in the Pirates' best interest to do something long-term at what might now be a discount price. For example, the Diamondbacks signed outfielder and speedster Corbin Carroll in 2023 at age 22 for eight years, $111 million, wiping out his arbitration years and early free agency, which doesn't begin by rule until a player has finished his sixth season. That gives the club more control and the player some much-needed security. MLB contracts are guaranteed if a player is hurt. In Skenes' case, he was the NL All-Star starter last year at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas and a player the Pirates would want to build around, you'd think. Advertisement 'No doubt,' Pirates manager Don Kelly said. 'A [player like] Paul Skenes doesn't come around very often, maybe ever. There are few pitchers like that. When I was younger I got to play with [Justin] Verlander and [Max] Scherzer. You see the same thing in Paul. He's definitely the kind of guy you want to build around.' But that depends upon the Pirates and their thrifty ways. The club's assistant general manager Bryan Stroh was on the road trip but declined to make himself available to answer questions about the subject. In essence, the Pirates don't get much of an attendance bump when Skenes is starting at PNC Park as opposed to the rest of their home schedule. They average 17,120 fans a game at PNC Park, 26th in MLB, and 18,937 in the five starts thus far this season that Skenes has made—and that includes the 37,713 who showed up on April 19 in a loss to Cleveland when the team gave away a Skenes bobblehead. Demand was so high for the bobblehead that fans lined up early across the Roberto Clemente Bridge into downtown Pittsburgh. Initially, only the first 20,000 through the gates were to obtain the prized possession. But when owner Bob Nutting saw the commotion, he guaranteed a bobblehead to all fans in attendance handing out a voucher when fans scanned their tickets. It was such a great promotion that the Pirates are planning to give away a Paul Skenes Superman bobblehead for their game against the Texas Rangers at PNC Park on June 22. Advertisement Perhaps that's to avoid these kind of attendance results: 8,291 to see Skenes pitch in an April 8 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and 13,633 to see Skenes lose to the Chicago Cubs on May 1. The largest crowd to see Skenes pitch this season was 53,055 at Dodger Stadium on April 25. The right-hander excelled that night by pitching into the seventh inning in a win, holding the Dodgers to no runs, five hits while striking out nine on 108 pitches. Similarly, on Wednesday he allowed no runs on four hits while whiffing seven on 96 pitches before Kelly plucked him with two out in the seventh in front of another strong road crowd of 25,202. If he's more popular on the road and less of a payday at home, the Pirate might as well trade him than extend. But that all remains to be seen. Advertisement 'It's all probably a long way away,' Skenes said. 'We have a good core and good opportunity to do so something significant in Pittsburgh.' Is this where he wants to be long term? 'I don't know,' he said. 'Just hear them out.' Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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2 days ago
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Tennis Prize Money Tracker: Which Player Has Earned the Most in 2025?
With $4.54 million in tournament winnings, Aryna Sabalenka is this year's leader in tennis prize money through May 23. The women's world No. 1 lost the Australian Open final in January, but has since won the Miami Open and the Madrid Open, earning more than $1 million for each victory. Carlos Alcaraz ranks second with $3.98 million in year-to-date on-court winnings. The four-time Grand Slam champion won two clay court Masters 1000 tournaments in Monte Carlo and Rome, banking more than $1 million at each event. Just 22 years old, Alcaraz is already eighth all-time in ATP career prize money, with a total of more than $40 million. Advertisement More from The two Australian Open singles winners are lower on the list. American Madison Keys won her first major in Melbourne, good for a $2.2 million payday, but has not reached the final of any tournament since. Jannik Sinner won the same amount for his Australian Open win but accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that put his season on pause from February through April. Heading into the French Open, women occupy six of the top 10 spots on the prize money rankings. The tournament's total purse of roughly $63 million is divided equally between men and women, just like the other three Grand Slam events, which award the largest sums on the calendar aside from the tours' finals. How does prize money work in tennis? When tennis players participate in tournaments, they are compensated based on the round in which they lose, with payouts escalating somewhat exponentially as the player continues to win. A first-round loser at the 2025 Miami Open received $23,760, while the tournament runner-up won $598,000 and the champion $1.12 million. Advertisement Singles draws generally pay out more money than doubles draws, but singles players also pad their earnings by participating in doubles at events that feature both formats. The money at stake in different tournaments varies greatly. Throughout the year, there are 250-level, 500-level and 1000-level events; the number refers to how many ranking points winners receive. Tournaments with more points on the line generally pay more money. Which tennis tournament has the highest prize money? The four majors—the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open—award 2,000 ranking points. They also have larger purses. Advertisement For instance, the 2024 U.S. Open allocated $3.6 million to each singles winner, while the 2024 Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 event, dished out $107,000 to its champion the prior week. Many pros also compete on the Challenger Tour, where players typically take home low five figures for winning an event. Although the ATP Finals and WTA Finals at the end of the calendar draw much less public attention than the majors, they are extremely lucrative for the exclusive group of eight participants. In fact, the $4.9 million that Sinner earned for winning the 2024 ATP Finals is nearly the total he made for winning the 2024 Australian Open ($2 million) and the 2024 U.S. Open ($3.6 million) combined. Do men make more than women in tennis? Last year, 15 women and 28 men earned at least $2 million. The four majors have all paid both genders equally since 2007, but many marquee events in which men and women both play simultaneously still pay men far more. For instance, the Cincinnati Open paid out approximately $6.8 million to male players in 2024 and just $3.2 million to female players, while prize money disparities at lower-level tournaments are even worse. Advertisement In 2022, Iga Świątek was so dominant on the court that she nearly became the first woman to be the highest-paid tennis player in a single season since 2003, when Kim Clijsters ($4.47 million) out-earned Roger Federer ($4 million). In 2024, however, the gender pay gap at the top of the sport was still as large as it had been a decade prior. The top 10 male players collectively earned $80.7 million in 2024, 41% more than the $57.4 million earned by the top 10 female players. In the global professional sports landscape, tennis still offers the most earning potential for women, as six of the 10 highest-paid female athletes in 2024 played tennis. Many tournaments have committed to offering equal pay in the future, but there is still much work to be done to close the gap overall. Male tennis stars also benefit significantly from ATP bonus pools, which share additional profits with the game's top players, with payouts are predicated on year-end ranking and participation in a certain number of 1000-level tournaments. The pool ballooned to $21.3 million in 2023, where it remained for 2024. Which tennis player has the most prize money? For both genders, tennis is dominated financially by the elites. Last year, Sinner earned nearly five times that of the 10th highest-paid man, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Sabalenka earned more than three times that of the 10th highest-paid woman, Emma Navarro. Advertisement The ATP Finals and WTA Finals both had purses exceeding $14 million last year. These tournaments only include the top eight players in the rankings, which contributes to the top-heavy prize money distribution in tennis. They are essentially 'rich get richer' events to end the season. Novak Djokovic has won a record 24 Grand Slams along with seven ATP Tour Finals, with inflation giving him an additional boost over older players. He holds four of the top 10 prize money seasons of all time and has a $50 million lead over Rafael Nadal for the most career winnings. Djokovic's lifetime prize money totals $187 million. Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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2 days ago
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MLB Invests ‘Eight Figures' in Athletes Unlimited Softball League
Major League Baseball has made a strategic investment in the AUSL (Athletes Unlimited Softball League), which begins its inaugural season next week. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed, but the investment amount was 'eight figures,' or at least $10 million, according to someone familiar with the details. It is the biggest financial commitment ever by MLB directed towards softball. Advertisement More from MLB intends to work with the AUSL and its players on sales and marketing, events, distribution, digital and social platforms, and content. AUSL athletes are expected to be incorporated into MLB's All-Star Game and its postseason. Select AUSL games will air on MLB Network and and the investment will support league operating costs and growth initiatives. In MLB's announcement of the news, commissioner Rob Manfred said the deal reflects MLB's confidence in the vision of AUSL, in the talent of the players and in Kim Ng's leadership. Last month, Ng, previously an advisor to AUSL, was named the league's commissioner. Ng is well-known in MLB circles; she was the first woman appointed as a general manager of a major men's North American franchise, having worked as GM of the Miami Marlins from 2020 to 2023. She has spent more than 30 years in MLB, including assistant GM stints with the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as a decade as an executive in the league office. Advertisement MLB has supported softball through various initiatives over the years, including as a sponsor of USA Softball and the Women's National Team. It sponsors the NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association), and supports various youth programs, such as PLAY BALL, the Nike RBI program, the Elite Development Invitational and Breakthrough Series. MLB also employees softball legends Jennie Finch and Natasha Watley as global ambassadors. MLB's investment was made via the league's investment fund, Baseball Endowment, L.P. (BELP). Each team owns 3.3% of BELP, and that share is worth $40.5 million, per the Atlanta Braves' most recent SEC filings, or $1.2 billion cumulatively for the 30 clubs. Athletes Unlimited was founded in 2020 by Jon Patricof and Jonathan Soros. In addition to the AUSL, it owns and operates women's basketball and volleyball leagues. AU has run softball events for the past five years in Rosemont, Ill., where players accumulated individual points during games to crown a winner. In August, 60 players will again compete for the individual title during the AUSL All-Star Cup, a 21-game competition. The 2025 AUSL season will feature four teams playing 24 games, starting June 7. Advertisement Best of Sign up for Sportico's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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3 days ago
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Vail Resorts Replaces CEO Lynch With Former Boss Rob Katz
Kirsten Lynch was ousted as CEO of Vail Resorts and has been replaced by former CEO Rob Katz, the resort announced Tuesday after the stock market closed. Katz was CEO for 16 years before Lynch was appointed in 2021 and built Vail into a ski resort giant that now includes 42 mountains. Lynch's tenure has been marked by bad press, earnings misses and investor discontent. The stock peaked at $372.51 the week she took over in November 2021, but it is off nearly 60% since then. 'Ms. Lynch's departure will be treated as a termination without cause,' according to an SEC filing about the treatment of her outstanding equity awards. More from Joining the Billionaires at Davos: Lindsey Vonn and Picabo Street Park City Ski Patrol Ends Strike, Reaches Deal With Vail Resorts Park City Ski Patrol Strike Latest PR Problem for Vail Resorts Vail shares popped 11% in after-hours trading on the news of the CEO change. Lynch's first winter as CEO was marred by long lift lines and employee shortages driven by COVID-19. Vail's struggles gave birth to the 'epicliftlines' Instagram account, which attracted 50,000 followers. The 2023-24 winter was hampered by warm weather that forced Vail to cut revenue and earnings targets. Snowfall at the company's western resorts was 28% lower than the prior year. This past winter was marred by a December ski patrol strike at Vail-owned Park City Mountain in Utah. Lack of snow and patrollers during the holiday week meant only 50 of 350 trails at the mountain were open during what is typically the busiest time of the year at ski resorts. The window price for a one-day lift ticket at Park City was $328 this winter. Revenue for the 12-month period ending Jan. 31 was $2.95 billion, with net income of $276 million. Katz has been involved with Vail since the early 1990s when he worked at Apollo Global Management, which bought the ski resort and then took it public in 1997. Katz was appointed to the board in 1996 and served as CEO from 2006 through 2021. He was widely hailed for his role in transforming the company, including the introduction of its Epic Pass product in 2008. It allowed skiers and boarders to use the passes at resorts across North America and stabilized the company's financial results, as a huge portion of revenue was locked in ahead of the season start. Katz has been executive chair of the board since he stepped down as CEO. 'My most important goal in returning as CEO is ensuring we align with all our stakeholders to deliver an Experience of a Lifetime for our employees and guests while driving financial success for our company,' Katz wrote in an email to Vail employees Tuesday. 'It is important to remember that aligning our stakeholders does not mean everyone will always agree with everything we do, or that our stakeholders will agree with each other. And while that is not always comfortable, it is part of the responsibility of being a leader in an industry with such passionate people.' Best of Most Expensive Sports Memorabilia and Collectibles in History The 100 Most Valuable Sports Teams in the World NFL Private Equity Ownership Rules: PE Can Now Own Stakes in Teams
