Next season\u2019s television income for nine Major League Baseball teams \u2014\u00a0close to one third of the league \u2014 is up in the air, adding a new wrinkle to an offseason where free agency has already moved slowly.<\/p>\n
Main Street Sports Group, the financially troubled operator of the FanDuel Sports Network regional sports channels, is attempting to re-negotiate what it pays 29 partner teams across MLB, NBA and NHL. People briefed on the company\u2019s finances who were not authorized to speak publicly said Main Street lost approximately $200 million in 2025 across its portfolio, which includes baseball\u2019s Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.<\/p>\n
Regardless of whether Main Street survives or is ultimately sold or dissolved, the same outcomes are possible: Teams could wind up with less money than they expected, or with a new broadcast partner, or both. The start of spring training is a little more than a month away, and a revenue change can affect roster building.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t know what your income is,\u201d said one MLB general manager who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about Main Street\u2019s renegotiation efforts. \u201cIt does make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said another club executive: \u201cIn the event we thought we\u2019d make X and now we\u2019re making Y, you can always make decisions independent of that, but I\u2019m sure that\u2019s going to be a reality for all of these teams: they\u2019re going to have to think of that (change).\u201d<\/p>\n
Main Street missed a payment <\/a>to the St. Louis Cardinals last month and the Cardinals are now deliberating whether to return to FanDuel SN next season, people briefed on those discussions said. The Cards, like many teams, have been negotiating with Main Street in recent days and are expected to soon decide whether to remain with FanDuel under a reworked agreement or to leave the network altogether.<\/p>\n \u201cMain Street Sports Group is in dialogue with its team and league partners around the timing of rights payments as we progress discussions with strategic partners to further enhance our long-term capital position,\u201d Main Street said in a statement.<\/p>\n MLB itself stands as the most likely home for any teams that leave Main Street in the near future, including the Cardinals. The league has handled TV production and distribution for multiple teams in each of the last three seasons, and has an expected roster of at least seven teams for 2026.<\/p>\n Revenues for regional sports networks have dropped this decade amidst cord-cutting and the rise of streaming. Main Street asked MLB teams to take cuts heading into 2025 as well, and local TV stations have been struggling long enough now that the league office will no longer provide a form of short-term aid to clubs that it once did.<\/p>\n For the 2024 season, MLB made a one-year agreement<\/a> with the players\u2019 union to create what the parties dubbed a \u201cmedia disruption distribution.\u201d Commissioner Rob Manfred last winter allotted money from the sport\u2019s luxury tax \u2014 the overages teams pay when their payroll climbs to certain levels \u2014 to teams that took a hit to their TV revenues, up to $15 million per affected club<\/a>, with a total limit of roughly $75 million.<\/p>\n The league didn\u2019t try to bring those payments back this winter, however. Giving some clubs money over others is always a tricky maneuver for a commissioner, and it would have been politically difficult for Manfred to repeat, people briefed on ownership thinking said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 2024 agreement with the MLBPA was a one-year stopgap meant to assist the clubs first affected by local media disruption,\u201d MLB said in a statement. \u201cUnfortunately, this is now a reality that most clubs are dealing with and requires a longer-term solution.\u201d<\/p>\n