Pro sports lost an incredible amount of money last year, with each league losing revenue in every area from fan support to sponsorship.
According to Forbes, to date, the pro sports leagues have lost a combined $14.1 billion since the world ground to a halt just over a year ago.
Not only did the leagues lose billions of dollars in revenue, but the teams themselves also lost a percentage of what they are worth, the magazine added.
“Even the value of sports teams, one of the most reliable long-term investments for billionaires, began to creak from the strain. NHL franchise values fell 2% on average, according to a Forbes analysis published in December, the first drop in two decades. NBA values rose just 4% on average, the smallest increase since 2010,” Forbes wrote.
Unsurprisingly, the players also took a hit to their wallets. Forbes also noted that total earnings for the nation’s highest-paid athletes fell for the first time since 2016.
The magazine found that some of the top earners lost millions over what they earned in 2019. Boxer Canelo Alvarez’s earnings are down $57 million. Baseball’s Clayton Kershaw lost $3.5 million. Basketball players Chris Paul and Joel Embiid lost $6.8 million and $4.9 million respectively. And golf great Phil Michelson lost $11.6 million over 2019.
Of course, one of the biggest losses that pro sports suffered in 2020 was the loss of ticket sales as games were canceled and stadiums either banned the fans or only opened at far reduced capacities.
Forbes is not the first outlet to report on the huge losses pro sports faced in 2020. Breitbart Sports reported on the billions in lost revenue in December.
In December, it was noted that one of golf’s big games, the U.S. Open, lost 56 percent of its viewers over 2019. Basketball suffered greatly, as well. The NBA finals were down 49 percent over last year. Tennis’ Open also cratered, losing 45 percent over 2019’s games. But the worst of all was Hockey’s Stanley Cup. The NHL’s big game lost a whopping sixty percent over the 2019 championship series.
Major League Baseball also lost $5.2 billion in 2020. Baseball’s loss comes is the Big Leagues became the last major U.S. sport to become woke by joining the extreme progressive movement with constant paeans to Black Lives Matter and so-called social justice causes.
Also, the National Basketball Association missed its severely lowered revenue projections by $1.5 billion. Major League Soccer’s revenue was down by about one billion. And the National Hockey League lost a more modest $630 million. And as far as football is concerned, it looks like the National Football League will lose upwards of $2.7 billion by the time the 2020 season comes to a merciful close.
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