Braves Chairman Terry McGuirk aims for top-five payroll

It’s been an unexpectedly disappointing 12 months for Braves fans. After entering the season with the second-best odds to win the World Series, Atlanta missed the postseason for the first time since 2017.

However, the frustration really began last offseason, when the Braves opted to sit on their hands for nearly five months, watching the rest of Major League Baseball get better through free-agent acquisitions and blockbuster trades. General manager Alex Anthopoulos and team chairman Terry McGuirk spent much of that time promising that payroll would rise, but when the time came to spend, nothing happened. In fact, payroll dropped by more than $30 million.

The reasoning behind that decision — whether it was an ownership mandate or simply Anthopoulos not finding deals he liked — may never be known. But this offseason should provide some answers, as both Anthopoulos and McGuirk are once again talking about spending big.

In an interview with 680 The Fan, Anthopoulos said the team plans to be aggressive this offseason and confirmed that payroll will increase. McGuirk echoed that sentiment on a Wednesday earnings call, saying the Braves aim to be among the league’s biggest spenders.

“I think aiming back to the top five is a place that I want to get to,” McGuirk said. “I think we’re capable of that.”

McGuirk also discussed the organization’s win-now mindset and emphasized that the Braves intend to be active in free agency this winter.

Of course, these sentiments are nothing new. The same talking points have been repeated for years, but until last offseason, there wasn’t much reason to doubt them.

Braves Payroll By Season

• 2021 –$152 million
• 2022 — $179 million
• 2023 — $206 million
• 2024 — $238 million
• 2025 — $217 million

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The idea that the Braves are cheap couldn’t be further from the truth. They’ve had a payroll inside the top 10 in every season since 2021, and from 2021-2024, it was rising by nearly $30 million per season — which is what makes last offseason so peculiar.

The Battery has allowed for this increased spending, and the Q3 earnings suggest another incredible year for Atlanta Braves Holdings. From Sports Business Journal:

In Q3, mixed-development revenue rose 56% year-over-year, from $17.4M to $27.2M. In the nine months ending Sept. 30, it was up 44% YOY, from $49.4M to $70.9M. The Q3 increase was largely attributed to the team’s $93M acquisition of Pennant Park in April. The Braves expect the expanded office footprint to be 90% leased by the end of the year.

The Braves’ attendance dropped from 3 million in 2024 to 2.9 million in 2025, but baseball event revenue (which combines ticket sales, concessions, advertising sponsorships, suites and premium seat fees) was up 4% (from $345.3M to $358.6M) through Sept. 30 YOY due to contractual rate increases on season tickets and existing sponsorships, as well as new premium seating and sponsorship agreements. Broadcast revenue rose 14% YOY to $164.6M, while retail and licensing fell 4% to $40.2M.

Baseball revenue (which combines baseball event, broadcast and retail and licensing revenue) through Sept. 30 rose 7% Y0Y from $561.2M to $600.3M. Meanwhile, total revenue (which combines baseball and mixed-development revenue) was up 7% in Q3 YOY, and 10% through Sept. 30 YOY ($671.2M).

The Battery has proven to be the Braves’ Golden Goose, printing money at an extraordinary rate. There’s simply no world where payroll should be declining — ever. Hopefully, last season’s dip was the result of complacency, not greed. The next five months will go a long way in revealing which it was.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

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