8 hours ago, 77 Hitmen said:

 I can probably count the number of teams who bring in less money than the White Sox on one hand.  Poor attendance, poor TV ratings, poor RSN situation, no additional revenue streams around the ballpark except for parking fees.  I'm not sure where the Sox stand as far as corporate sponsorship goes, but I'd expect them to be pretty low on the list among MLB teams.  

Last year it was quite literally one.  The only big off books source they have is parking, which isn't great when record low crowds are the case.

3 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Last year it was quite literally one.  The only big off books source they have is parking, which isn't great when record low crowds are the case.

Getting a lot of revenue from parking lots was a great plan.....in 1991.  3+ decades later, other teams have found there are more profitable ways to use the land around their stadiums.

I know people like to cite Jerry's sweetheart lease as *proof* that the Sox are making money hand over fist.   I don't disagree it's a great deal for JR, but how much does it give the Sox a leg up on other MLB teams?  I suspect it's not enough to offset their lack of money coming in from other sources.

12 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

Getting a lot of revenue from parking lots was a great plan.....in 1991.  3+ decades later, other teams have found there are more profitable ways to use the land around their stadiums.

I know people like to cite Jerry's sweetheart lease as *proof* that the Sox are making money hand over fist.   I don't disagree it's a great deal for JR, but how much does it give the Sox a leg up on other MLB teams?  I suspect it's not enough to offset their lack of money coming in from other sources.

Them not paying money to the state isn't that big of an expense.  A decent portion of modern stadiums are owned by the owners, so no reason to lease.  The rest are primarily public owned, and the leases don't seem to be THAT big.  Single mid digit millions seems to be an normal number, though I see the LA football stadium is getting a whopping dollar a year from each tenant, so Jerry's deal isn't THAT great anymore.

6 hours ago, southsider2k5 said:

Them not paying money to the state isn't that big of an expense.  A decent portion of modern stadiums are owned by the owners, so no reason to lease.  The rest are primarily public owned, and the leases don't seem to be THAT big.  Single mid digit millions seems to be an normal number, though I see the LA football stadium is getting a whopping dollar a year from each tenant, so Jerry's deal isn't THAT great anymore.

I looked up what the Braves pay in rent at Truist Park and it's $6.1M per year.   How much talent does that get you on a MLB roster?
https://www.thecentersquare.com/georgia/article_db606e60-9e5e-11ec-97b6-a37e2dd445ca.html#

If I'm reading this article correctly, the Brewers have paid $20M in rent total over 20 years.  
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/12/05/governor-signs-brewers-subsidy-agreement-at-american-family-field/

Some teams, as you said, own their stadiums.

While I agree that Reinsdorf has ruined the White Sox franchise, people need to drop the myth that the Rate Field sweetheart lease is giving him a huge financial advantage over other teams.  

24 minutes ago, 77 Hitmen said:

I looked up what the Braves pay in rent at Truist Park and it's $6.1M per year.   How much talent does that get you on a MLB roster?
https://www.thecentersquare.com/georgia/article_db606e60-9e5e-11ec-97b6-a37e2dd445ca.html#

If I'm reading this article correctly, the Brewers have paid $20M in rent total over 20 years.  
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2023/12/05/governor-signs-brewers-subsidy-agreement-at-american-family-field/

Some teams, as you said, own their stadiums.

While I agree that Reinsdorf has ruined the White Sox franchise, people need to drop the myth that the Rate Field sweetheart lease is giving him a huge financial advantage over other teams.  

I don’t think it gives him a huge financial advantage over other teams and I don’t think many others believe that either.  I believe it gives him huge financial -incentive- to maintain the status quo and do very little to get better 

Someday the Sox new owner will field a winner and buy three guys like u mentioned. At that time, I hope he builds on it adding pieces. Sox were so dumb to lose all momentum after the 2005 title. Shoulda been a turning point in the franchise. We were on top of the baseball world.

54 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

I don’t think it gives him a huge financial advantage over other teams and I don’t think many others believe that either.  I believe it gives him huge financial -incentive- to maintain the status quo and do very little to get better 

Bingo

1 hour ago, Kyyle23 said:

I don’t think it gives him a huge financial advantage over other teams and I don’t think many others believe that either.  I believe it gives him huge financial -incentive- to maintain the status quo and do very little to get better 

Exactly. This is very well stated. He's basically rewarded if they don't draw well. Who in there right mind from the state board would agree to that type of deal? Seriously that's an insane agreement from the state perspective. 

3 hours ago, Lip Man 1 said:

Exactly. This is very well stated. He's basically rewarded if they don't draw well. Who in there right mind from the state board would agree to that type of deal? Seriously that's an insane agreement from the state perspective. 

It'll be interesting to see what happens after this lease is up in 2029.    I won't even get into the new stadium question because we have another thread for that.  But, I suppose they'd be negotiating with Ishbia, not Reinsdorf, for the next lease if they stay at Rate Field. 

On 11/11/2025 at 1:37 PM, Johno said:

to win the division if we were to sign Tucker, Alonso and Valdez this offseason ?   I know this will NEVER happen, but I honestly think we instantly become the favorites if White Sox ownership decided to do this.

Interesting question. Put another way, are the Sox 3 players away from being a favorite? I think the answer is yes! The problem is, those players are Ruth, Gehrig, and Koufax 😳

21 hours ago, PitchatRisktoZisk said:

Interesting question. Put another way, are the Sox 3 players away from being a favorite? I think the answer is yes! The problem is, those players are Ruth, Gehrig, and Koufax 😳

Let’s say an additional 20 fWAR.

Does that bring them to league average even?

9 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Let’s say an additional 20 fWAR.

Does that bring them to league average even?

We're working off a 60-102 record. I believe that they've already seen growth and development in the 2nd half that probably adds 5+ wins. (They were on a 70 win pace in the 2nd half.) Were they to get continued development from half their young core, add a couple starters to the mix, shore up the bullpen somewhat, juggle the OF and add a 1B who could hit consistently, I think that puts them in the mid-upper 70's, maybe .500, if everything clicks. 

So yeah, a league average team.