Speculation as to where ESPN’s package of MLB rights will end up after the 2025 season remains a dominant narrative heading into the league’s Opening Day.
One part of that rights package, the Home Run Derby, has gotten an outsized amount of attention after multiple reports have surfaced about interest from various networks. Now, a potential price tag for the event is being floated.
On his Marchand Sports Media podcast, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that the Home Run Derby could sell for anywhere between $30 and $50 million as a standalone property. Earlier this month, Marchand reported that Fox has expressed interest in the Home Run Derby to pair with the All-Star Game, which the network already has. Others have speculated that Netflix, with its penchant for marquee one-off events, could be a landing spot for the Derby.
The problem, which Marchand explains, is that MLB is unsure it wants to break out the Home Run Derby as separate inventory. In doing so, the league could make other packages less attractive, and it could also anchor potential rights bidders’ expectations come 2028 when MLB has to sell the rest of its national media rights inventory.
“If you take out the Home Run Derby and sell that separately,” Marchand says, “you’re going to have a price on that. Now, people have told me, I’d say it’s anywhere from $30 to $50 million, that people would probably pay for it. And that’s a good number, of course. But when you go to 2028, do you want that number already assigned to that, or do you want to roll it in to something else?”
It’s a good question. Could MLB likely get more money now from breaking out the Home Run Derby as its own package? Probably. But would they be limiting their options down the line by doing so? That’s certainly a consideration the league has to make.
As Marchand mentions, “most people don’t want a three-year contract” anyway. MLB would likely only want to sell the Home Run Derby individually for three years, then roll it back into another package come 2028. Whether there’s a buyer out there interested in doing that is the question MLB will ultimately find an answer to.
