Forbes: Pirates' value increases 1% from 2018

The value of the Pittsburgh Pirates continues to grow, according to Forbes.com — but just barely and not at the rate of almost all of their contemporaries.

The Pirates have an estimated net worth of $1.275 billion, the financial publication said in its annual valuation of MLB teams. The list is widely reported every year, but often the numbers are disputed by the franchises.

The New York Yankees are the most valuable baseball team and had local revenue of $712 million last year, the most in MLB and more than the bottom 6 teams https://t.co/ukhKlqCixo pic.twitter.com/apt0jsv4fg

— Forbes (@Forbes) April 10, 2019

As a private company and like virtually every professional sports franchise, the Pirates’ accounting books are not public and are not released.

The Pirates did not respond to a request for comment on the valuation.

Forbes’ calculations put the Pirates’ as MLB’s 20th-most valuable team, with 2018 estimated revenue at $254 million and $39 million in operating income.

That profit puts the Pirates among the top half of the majors’ teams (three of the 30 franchises lost money last year, said Forbes).

The Pirates had more revenue in 2018 than just the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins and Oakland Athletics. They trailed 24 teams in revenue. At 8%, the Pirates’ debt-to-value ratio ranked 11th-best in MLB, per Forbes.

While the Pirates increased in value by 1% from Forbes’ 2018 estimates ($1.26 billion), none of MLB’s 30 teams lost values, and only the Marlins stayed flat. The Pirates and Royals were the only franchises to increase just 1%.

The Pirates’ 2019 team payroll is $76.6 million, according to Spotrac.com, down from $91 million last season and 27th among MLB teams.

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