Last year, for the first time in a quarter-century, Major League Baseball teams did not share local revenues between themselves, halting the program because of the massive drop in earnings caused by COVID-19. The system, which moved more than $400 million between teams in its last normal of year operation, is resuming again for 2021 with new twists — and already, a potential sore spot.
In the 2021 calendar year, only half the money that would normally be paid is going to be available to teams, people with knowledge of the plan said. The other half is slated to be paid out next year. Notably, the 50 percent slice that is available this year will not come out of the clubs’ pockets — not for now, at least. The league office is using a line of credit to front the money, on the expectation that the big-market teams that would normally be on the hook will eventually repay the league office.