Does New Bonus Pool Increase Signal Slowing MLB Revenues?
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MLB’s bonus draft pool allotment may have topped $350 million for the first time, but the underlying growth may not be quite as impressive as the overall figure that grabbed headlines.
Bonus draft pools increased 4.78% from 2024. That’s a healthy increase, but it’s also the smallest year-over-year increase since 2019, and below the average 5.78% annual increase since the bonus pool allotment system was implemented in 2012.
That figure matters because MLB’s draft bonus pools mirror increase in industry revenues. A change in bonus pools is a useful way to see how MLB’s revenues are growing.
The bonus pool increase is actually negotiated between MLB and the MLB Players Association. There have been times where that original figure has changed. In 2022, the MLBPA successfully negotiated a .05% increase on top of the original bonus pools. The 2025 figure was delayed while MLBPA successfully pushed for another increase in the total amount.
Still, that annual increase has tapered off–although its worth noting bonus pool increases were frozen in 2020 and 2021 by mutual agreement as part of the negotiations to deal with the coronavirus pandemic). It’s one minor indicator, but it is a sign of how the MLB revenue growth has slowed over the past year.
In comparison, the 2023 and 2024 increases–9.76% and 8.8%, respectively–were fueled by extended TV deals after Fox Sports and Turner Sports extended their TV contracts from 2022 to 2028. Those were the two largest increases of the bonus pool era, surpassing 2015 (8.77%) when a new national TV contract kicked in.
This year’s slowdown in growth comes while MLB grapples with the declining footprint of regional sports networks, although other revenue streams (like licensing and international deals) have helped soften the blow.
A major piece of MLB’s media rights puzzle–and a harbinger for potential future growth–is still unresolved. MLB’s current contract with ESPN will expire after this season after both sides mutually agreed to opt-out of the contract before its 2028 expiration date. MLB’s ability to find a TV partner that brings in more than ESPN’s contract will play a significant role in determining how much growth will be seen in future bonus pool increases.
| Year | PCT Change | Bonus Pool |
| 2025 | 4.78% | $350,357,700 |
| 2024 | 8.80% | $334,375,000 |
| 2023 | 9.76% | $307,335,300 |
| 2022 | 5.35% | $280,000,000 |
| 2021 | Frozen | $265,769,400 |
| 2020 | Frozen | $235,906,800 |
| 2019 | 4.11% | $266,480,400 |
| 2018 | 4.13% | $255,969,600 |
| 2017 | 4.90% | $245,806,800 |
| 2016 | 4.69% | $234,331,200 |
| 2015 | 8.77% | $223,834,500 |
| 2014 | 1.62% | $205,786,400 |
| 2013 | 6.63% | $202,501,600 |
| 2012 | $189,903,500 |
