The Toronto Blue Jays fell just short of their first World Series title since 1993, losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 in an 11-inning Game 7 on Saturday night. They were two outs away when Dodgers’ Miguel Rojas tied the game with a homer in the top of the ninth; Will Smith put Los Angeles ahead for good with a homer in the 11th.
Still, this was a magical season for the Blue Jays, who made their run to the World Series after finishing in the bottom of the AL East in 2024. And the timing was perfect for Rogers Communications, which owns the team, as it doubles down on sports as a business pillar for the telecom giant.
“We are in the early stages of transforming our sports and entertainment business into one of the best sports businesses globally,” Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said during the company’s recent third-quarter earnings call. “This is our third pillar of growth beyond wireless and cable and will be meaningful to Rogers over time.
Wireless and cable still represent roughly 85% of Rogers’ revenue, but the media and sports segment has been growing faster, as the company looks to unlock some of that value for shareholders.
Rogers bought 80% of the Blue Jays at a $140 million valuation in 2000, and it bought the other 20% four years later. It expanded its sports portfolio in 2012 when Rogers and BCE teamed up to purchase a combined 75% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in a deal that valued MLSE at roughly $1.7 billion, including debt. MLSE owns the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and MLS’ Toronto FC.
In July, Rogers closed its purchase of BCE’s 37.5% stake in MLSE for CA$4.7 billion ($3.45 billion based on then exchange rates), which pushed its MLSE stake to 75%. Rogers also owns Canada’s biggest sports media brand, Sportsnet.
“We’ve held significant [sports] assets with the original 37.5% in MLSE, the Jays, Sportsnet and other media assets, and we get zero credit for that today in our share valuation,” Staffieri said in a July interview. “The thesis is to consolidate all those assets together and surface that value for Rogers’ shareholders.”
The four teams are worth a combined $12.6 billion, according to Sportico’s most recent team valuations, led by the Raptors at $5.22 billion (No. 12 in the NBA) and Maple Leafs at $4.25 billion (first among NHL teams). The Jays rank No. 13 at $2.39 billion, and Toronto FC is $725 million, 10th in MLS. Rogers’ current share of those teams is $10 billion.
“There are a number of alternatives available to us,” Staffieri said. “Whether it’s private investors, some type of IPO or some type of spin-out.”
Kilmer Sports Ventures, which is controlled and majority-owned by Larry Tanenbaum, owns the remaining 25% of MLSE. Rogers has an option to buy that stake in 2026, and Staffieri and Rogers executive chairman Edward Rogers both told Sportico they expect to exercise the option.
“Sports has emerged as a central theme for RCI in recent months, as investors look to future monetization events,” Jérome Dubreuil, a Desjardins equity analyst, wrote in a research note last month. He said it was reassuring that management confirmed that credit agencies are aware of the “MLSE consolidation plan” and that no equity financing should be required to bridge the gap between the buyout of Kilmer and the sale of an MLSE minority stake.
Rogers has started flexing its financial muscles with the Blue Jays to compete with the big-spending Yankees and Red Sox in their division. Toronto is baseball’s sixth-biggest metro area and is in a unique position as the only MLB team in a country of 41 million. The team’s opening day payroll slipped to No. 21 for the 2019 season, but the Jays shot up the rankings to fifth this year at $242 million, more than double the 2019 season. That does not include the 14-year, $500 million contract the club gave Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in April, which starts next year. The extension paid $20 million of Guerrero’s $325 million signing bonus this year.
Rogers privately financed a $300 million renovation of Rogers Centre over nearly two years that transformed the building from its multipurpose sports roots to baseball focused. It added premium inventory with club areas and five outfield districts that also came with new sponsorship opportunities.
Concerts have also become an increased priority at the venue. Last year, Rogers hosted six Taylor Swift shows, and its 2025 calendar included Billy Joel, Metallica, Morgan Wallen, Post Malone and The Weeknd. Rogers Centre ranked 10th in Billboard’s 2024 look at the world’s highest-grossing arenas with $121.4 million from 79 shows and 1.1 million people.
“We also look to ensure that we’re capitalizing on the cross-synergies amongst all our assets,” Staffieri said during the earnings call. “The run of the Toronto Blue Jays and heading into the World Series, you can see that in spades in terms of the ability to enhance our brand, the ability to showcase our cable and wireless products and services to viewers of the game, and we’ve seen that throughout the year.”