As Trump’s Tariffs Rock The Market, Sports Team Owners Have Nothing To Fear

Forbes Daily Briefing

Forbes

Careers, Business, News, Entrepreneurship

4.6 • 12 Ratings

🗓️ 25 May 2025

⏱️ 5 minutes

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Summary

The president’s erratic policies are raising concerns the economy might be headed for a downturn, but history suggests that franchise values will continue to climb regardless.

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0:00.0	Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Sunday, May 25th. Today on Forbes, as Trump's tariffs rocked
0:08.3	the market, sports team owners have nothing to fear. When the Boston Red Sox took the field for a
0:15.0	belated opening day in 2020, there were no fans cheering in the stands, or lined up at the concession stands or browsing the team's shop.
0:23.9	The streets around Fenway Park, usually bustling in July, had become a ghost town.
0:29.6	That was the norm in Major League Baseball and countless other sports leagues around the globe,
0:34.2	as the COVID-19 pandemic emptied stadiums, canceled games, and
0:39.1	otherwise decimated teams' profit and loss statements.
0:42.8	The Red Sox, who had generated $519 million in revenue in 2019, saw that mark plummet
0:49.3	nearly 71 percent to $152 million, while the MLB average dipped to $122 million from $346 million,
0:59.9	according to Forbes estimates.
1:01.9	The decline didn't extend to team values, however.
1:05.9	MLB franchises appreciated 3% on average from 2020 to 2021, an estimated $1.9 billion and climbed another
1:15.1	9% a year later to $2.1 billion. The Red Sox did even better, jumping 5% and then 13% to land
1:24.1	at $3.9 billion in 2022. The team is now worth an estimated $4.8 billion, the third best mark in baseball.
1:33.8	Tom Werner, the billionaire chairman of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Red Sox, the
1:38.7	NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Premier League's Liverpool FC, says, quote, if you look at 2008 or during COVID in 2020,
1:47.8	you had to fasten your seatbelt and know that in the short run you're going to take a financial
1:51.9	hit. But that's part of being an investor, right? Everything took a financial hit during COVID,
1:57.1	and you just have to ride it out and be patient. That patience is about to be tested again, with investors from all walks facing another
2:05.8	year of uncertainty prompted by President Donald Trump's heavy-handed tariff policies.
2:11.1	As of early May, the S&P 500 Index had dropped 4% so far in 2025 and was down 15% before a recent rebound spurred by
2:20.9	Trump pausing most of the tariffs. J.P. Morgan economists say there is a 60% chance the U.S.
	...

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