Forbes came out with their annual list of team values yesterday. The Mets are listed as the third most valuable team in the game behind the Yankees and Red Sox. That’s not a big surprise to any of us. What is interesting is that the Mets declined in value by 6% from last year, the only team in the top half of the league to do so.
You can still see the 2009 list of values on Forbes’ website. The Mets fell behind the Red Sox by losing value. The heavy debt from Citi Field and the poor season certainly are to blame for the devaluation.The Mets are also carrying the third highest debt load in baseball behind the troubled Rangers and the Yankees. I’m sure that’s mostly due to the new stadium. Even so, the Mets to generate over $26 million in operating income. Although that’s not even close to the low-budget Marlins.
So we know that the Mets aren’t putting all of their revenue into the players. There’s still plenty there to make mid-season moves if they choose to do so. Or they could just use the team as their own personal ATM machine and keep the funds.
The Mets Report 