How Much are the Chicago Cubs Worth?
The Chicago Cubs have been a staple in Major League Baseball for years and years. Fans of the team are some of the most dedicated individuals in sports and by all accounts, those who live in and around Chicago are extremely proud to be able to call this team their own. There is, after all, a lot of story history there. The team has remained largely competitive over the years and they’ve given Chicago residents something to be proud of. Much of this is reflected in things like attendance at games and the amount of money that the team makes.
As a matter of fact, you would undoubtedly be very surprised if you knew how much money the team really made. A recent study followed Major League Baseball teams from 2002 until this year in 2018. The idea was to see how much money each team was making and the results were truly surprising. The Chicago Cubs definitely come in at number one when it comes to the amount of money made. They have had their value determined to be at $2.9 billion. Obviously, this is good news for the Ricketts family, which owns the team. The question is, how have they managed to achieve such a high net worth when there are other Major League Baseball teams out there that haven’t even managed to make half that much?
There are actually a number of different reasons that the team is valued at the number that it currently is. First and foremost, you have to look at the fans of the team. After all, if you don’t have dedicated fans, you’re not going to make as much money and that’s just the way it is. They are the backbone of any sports team so if you don’t have their support, you’re already starting behind the curve. When it comes to the Chicago Cubs, fan support has never really been a problem. The team’s fans have continued to support them even during years when they struggled. That’s because they have a deep-rooted pride in the team that runs throughout the entire city. It really is something quite special because it’s not something that you see in every other city across the United States. When you’re from Chicago, you’re practically brought up being taught how to be a fan of this team and you’re expected to deliver.
As such, they have a great attendance record. Fans routinely walk to the stadium for games and they’re not afraid to spend money once they get there. They support the team in every way they can, starting with ticket sales and ending with buying all types of merchandise that have helped to add to the team’s overall value. The interesting thing is that it doesn’t stop there. It’s true that the backbone of the team’s net worth is indeed in ticket sales but there are other factors that also must be considered. For example, fans have a habit of supporting the team by buying season tickets and purchasing membership in club seats and similar things that really drive the overall value of the team up. That goes a long way toward helping the team maintain a high net worth because each one of these items is considered a high-dollar item to begin with.
Of course, the real kicker comes in endorsements and teams often get endorsement deals by allowing companies to purchase a certain amount of advertising space within the stadium. The Chicago Cubs do that just as virtually every other sports team does. Depending on how much a company decides to spend, you might name the entire stadium after them or you might only dedicate a certain section of the stadium to them but either way, it’s all money that’s being pumped back into the program. As it turns out, the Chicago Cubs team has a front office that is very good at creating these types of endorsement deals with both local and national companies. That’s part of the appeal of this team. You can have a national company that supports it that isn’t even based in the area because they have a reputation that far exceeds their geographic location.
When you put all of this together, you have a team that makes a lot of money. With each passing year, they continue to do fairly well and that only serves to cement their position as a team that’s capable of getting a lot of fans and maintaining them. They’ve become something of the poster child for creating worth within Major League Baseball and it’s something that has not gone unnoticed by other team owners. As a result, many people are looking to this team to figure out additional ways that they too can make more money.