Forbes has released a list of Major League Baseball team valuations, and with an estimated value of $464 million, the Colorado Rockies check in at No. 18. The report from Forbes includes a lot of financial information, from revenue and operating income, to year-to-year trends in payroll and overall team value.
Here's what Forbes has to say about the Rockies:
The Rockies upped their payroll before last season and whiffed. After making the playoffs in 2009 and winning 83 games in 2010, the team felt they had the nucleus for a playoff team. Prior to the start of the 2011 season, the team re-signed pitcher Jorge De La Rosa for two years at $21.5 million and gave shortstop Troy Tulowitzki a six-year extension that turned his remaining four-year, $40 million deal into a ten-year, $158 million contract. They also inked outfielder Carlos Gonzalez to a seven-year, $80 million pact. But the Rockies won just 73 games last season. The boost in payroll resulted in a 12% drop in operating income, as attendance at Coors Field stayed flat at an average of 35,923 per game.