The financial fallout from the failure of FanDuel Sports Network continues to ripple out across MLB, and the Los Angeles Angels are definitely one of the teams affected. It has a significant impact on the income of many teams, especially the Angels given their current financial status.
Evan Drellich and Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote a piece about this, and it’s the second time Drellich has tackled this topic. His piece with Woo is more pointed, and it offers some revealing details about the specific economic income.
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“You don’t know what your income is,” said one MLB general manager who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the renegotiations efforts of Main Street Sports Group, the rebranded version of the company that’s in trouble. “It does make a difference.”
Said another club executive recently: “In the event we thought we’d make X and now we’re making Y, you can always make decisions independent of that, but I’m sure that’s going to be a reality for all of these teams: they’re going to have to think of that (change).”
The St. Louis Cardinals were one team the writers mentioned, with Main Street missing a payment to the team last month. MLB itself could now be the broadcast home for many of these teams, which many in the industry see as a problematic short-term solution.
“This has to get resolved,” the club executive said. “If we don’t have clarity on the Main Street side, it starts to become an issue in that you erode your alternative by waiting. There’s a lot of work that has to happen to get it set up.”
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So why is this especially important to the Angels? Because of owner Arte Moreno’s current overall financial situation, basically. Moreno is facing a potentially large judgment payment from the recently-settled Tyler Skaggs civil suit trial, and he’s also paying former third baseman Anthony Rendon $7.5 million a year not to play for the next five seasons.
The Angels are one of several teams in the league who aren’t paying to add pricier players, and you can make the argument that the lack of broadcast revenue is part of that.
Moreno would probably try to sell you a bridge somewhere if you buy that particular argument, but the uncertainty is definitely a factor for the fan base, as Angels fans want to know who’s televising their games and whether that outlet is stable and viable going forward.