With Manny Machado deal, Padres see $3M boost to ticket revenue: Report
Bryce Harper isn’t the only Major League Baseball superstar generating an instant return on investment for his new ball club this spring.
Since signing free-agent slugger Manny Machado to a 10-year, $300 million contract in February, the San Diego Padres have experienced a $3 million boost to ticket revenue, team president of baseball operations Erik Greupner told ESPN. The team has sold “at least double” the amount of tickets it normally has sold this time of year, he added.
Greupner said the Padres are “at or ahead of what we anticipated” for ticket revenue projections before signing Machado, noting that early returns are much stronger than they were in 2015, the last time the franchise had an active offseason.
“Even in 2015 and 2016, we didn't see a spike like we've seen this year in terms of demand," he said. "And frankly, it's been maintained for a longer period of time so far than some of the spikes we've seen in the past. So, we're encouraged that it's really setting a new trend line for us this season in terms of demand for tickets and merchandise."
Machado’s $300 million contract initially ranked as the largest deal ever signed by an MLB free agent. His deal is the third-richest in MLB history in terms of overall value, trailing only Harper’s $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies and Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 million contract extension with the Miami Marlins in 2014.
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The cost of Phillies tickets surged after Harper’s signing, with the “get-in” price of the cheapest available ticket at Philadelphia’s home opener surging more than 160 percent within hours. The team said it sold a total of roughly 100,000 tickets in the 24 hours after reports about the deal first surfaced.