The Rays get $60M in revenue sharing currently
Tampa Bay Rays owner Stu Sternberg is said to be coming under mounting pressure to sell the team from MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and other owners, reports The Athletic.
MLB might even attempt to strip away some of the Rays' revenue-sharing funds in an attempt to push Sternberg into selling, according to the report. The Rays receive $60 million in revenue sharing now. The reported motive behind the pressure stems from Sternberg exploring whether or not he wants to get out of a stadium agreement.
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A general view of the stadium before a game between the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. (Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports)
Sternberg has until the end of this month to determine whether or not to pursue the new stadium agreement in the Historic Gas Plant District in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida.
The Rays have been attempting to construct a new stadium for 17 years, and pressure to deal with the matter increased this previous fall when Hurricane Milton tore off the roof of their present building, Tropicana Field. The team will host their 2025 home games at the spring training facility of the hated New York Yankees.
View of the damaged roof of Tropicana Field stadium, the home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, after Hurricane Milton made landfall, in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2024. (REUTERS/Octavio Jones)
The Rays and Sternberg had previously agreed to provide $700 million for a new stadium. But a postponed county vote created a delay in construction and thus higher costs, and so Sternberg feels that he and his staff should not be responsible for paying the resulting costs.
The Pinellas County Commission postponed voting on its portion of the new stadium bonds in November, putting that project on hold.
Possible buyers to acquire the Rays if Sternberg is forced to sell are former Yankees minority owner Joe Molloy.
Tampa Bay Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg and Manager Kevin Cash watch as pitchers and catchers hold their first Spring Training workout in Port Charlotte, Florida, on February 12, 2025, at Charlotte Sports Park. Hurricane Milton rips the roof off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the Rays usually play their regular season games. They play their regular season home games this year at the New York Yankees Spring Training stadium, Steinbrenner Field, which seats 11,000 people. (Thomas O'Neill/NurPhoto)
Molloy acknowledged his interest to the Tamp Bay Times.
"Yes, I'm heading up a group of high net-worth Tampa Bay-based investors interested in buying the Tampa Bay Rays. We've put together an amazing group with a like-minded vision," Molloy explained to the outlet.
Tampa entrepreneur Dan Doyle Jr. also heads up a different group seeking to buy the Rays, as the report details.