Brewers say their revenues are 'as good as they've ever been.' How will that affect future payroll?
Attendance took a slight dip for the Milwaukee Brewers and it’s still a long ways away from the record seasons of more than three million fans coming through the turnstiles, but that doesn’t mean it was a bad year for the team in the pocketbooks.
As the Brewers prepare to face the New York Mets in the National League wild card series beginning Tuesday, the club is coming off one of its most successful seasons both in terms of wins and dollars.
The 2024 regular season was among the most lucrative the Brewers have had in terms of revenue, president of business operations Rick Schlesinger said in an interview alongside principal owner Mark Attanasio on Monday.
“Fans have been great at supporting,” Schlesinger said. “Our TV ratings are top-three in baseball. The mix of tickets is different. We also look at revenue as well as attendance, and our revenue numbers are as good as they’ve ever been despite the fact that we don’t have the same attendance that we had pre-pandemic.”
The Brewers drew 2,537,202 fans this season, a slight dip from 2,551,347 in 2023. Those figures are both down from where they were right before the pandemic in 2020; attendance was 2,923,333 in 2019, 2,850,875 and 2,627,705 in 2017.
Milwaukee last drew more than three million fans in 2011 – which it also did in 2008 and 2009.
But the number of fans actually showing up at the park, which isn’t reflected in the official “attendance” number, which is reflective of total tickets sold, is high for the Brewers.
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“We have a different mix of tickets sold than prior years,” Schlesinger said. “We have lower no-show rates, which is good. People buying the tickets have a bigger investment and are attending.
“Candidly, our fans, correctly in my estimation, have high expectations from this team. When I got here it was like, ‘Can we get to .500? And if we do we’ll have a parade.’ The expectations have risen with the performance.”
With the Brewers in the postseason once again, revenues will only continue to increase. The deeper the team's October run is, the more financial benefit the club will gain.
How will the revenue affect the Brewers' payroll?
Naturally, the question fans will ask upon hearing about record revenues is how that will impact the on-field product.
The Brewers won 93 games and earned the National League Central Division title for the third time in the last four years, but they also did so despite an opening day payroll more than $14 million lower than in 2023 ($118.8 million to $104.3 million), according to Cot’s Contracts. Fangraphs has the Brewers’ year end payroll at $116 million, which would also be lower than last year and the lowest it’s been since 2021.
Attanasio, who’s led the owning group of the team in the smallest market in baseball since 2005, was asked to what degree the increased revenue would be reflected in the on-field payroll next year.
“We have a budget every year,” Attanasio said. “Revenue isn’t just ticket revenue; it (includes) beverage and sponsorships, all of which are strong. (There’s) also revenue sharing, which we’ve talked about a lot. The way that the revenue sharing model works, everybody puts their money in the pot and then it gets recalibrated. The more money you make on a comparative basis, the less revenue sharing you get.
“We’ve got local media – some would say challenges, but I would say opportunities – with the challenges at Diamond (Sports Group) and Bally’s. If you look to the medium term and not just the short term, I look at that as opportunities because of the ability to control our digital rights, which are very valuable. And that may occasion a step back next year.”
Attanasio clarified he was not saying there would be a step back in payroll, but in what the Brewers might receive from a media deal. Their contract with Diamond Sports Group expires at the end of the 2024 season.
“We always have a cushion,” Attanasio said. “It’s a question of working with (general manager) Matt (Arnold) and his team and where we are in the development. We model that as best as you can, which is almost impossible, what the team is going to look like over three years and what the win expectancy is. And so that all goes into that.”
A key part of the upcoming off-season for the Brewers involves shortstop Willy Adames, who will be a free agent. It does not sound like the Brewers plan on competing at the top of the market to retain Adames, who has been with the team since 2021.
“He’s going to get an enormous free-agent contract and I’m very happy for him and his family, and we’ll give it our best shot,” Attanasio said. “But there’s a lot deeper pockets out there. That’s just the reality.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers say revenues are 'as good as they've ever been'