Cubs: Skyrocketing franchise value is a punch in the face to fans

Tom Ricketts had previously hinted at the Cubs (him) being out of money, but we now know the team’s worth all while he looks to purchase another team overseas in Chelsea FC.

On Thursday morning, the Chicago Cubs were ranked fourth on Forbes’ released list of Major League Baseball’s Most Valuable Teams. Behind the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox, the Cubs come in with a total worth of $3.8 billion (with a “B”). This is all happening while we read reports of Cubs owner Tom Ricketts in the final group of bidders seeking to purchase Chelsea, a soccer club in the English Premier League.

Previously, Ricketts talked about how the franchise was looking at “biblical losses” during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. However, after four straight years of generating over $430 million in revenue, the Cubs still generated $163 million in 2020.

Fans took to Twitter to express frustration.

Tom Ricketts has shown he has no problem taking advantage of Cubs fans

The Chicago Cubs are now worth $3,800,000,000.00. The Ricketts family purchased the team in 2009 for $900,000,000. By my math, they have made $2.9 billion profit on the transaction. To their credit, they did bring Chicago what we had longed for for multiple generations – a World Championship – in 2016. But it seems as if us fans are being told that is enough.

This offseason was crucial for the future of the Cubs. The free agent market was as hot and as appealing as ever before. After a heart-wrenching 2021 where fans were forced to say goodbye to favorites like Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Javy Baez and Kyle Schwarber, a lot of us were optimistic that the team would go out and spend in free agency in order to keep pace with the top teams in the National League. Ricketts said this himself – and you can watch that clip for yourself here.

I am not here to knock the signings the Cubs did make. Going out and getting Marcus Stroman for the rotation and Seiya Suzuki for the lineup were great for the future. However, there is no reason why the Cubs could not go out and do more when the list of needs is so long.

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Ricketts is making a clear and defining statement by attempting to purchase an entirely different sports franchise across the world: he is making money, all he cares about is making money, and he will continue to take advantage of the fact that Cubs fans will fill the Federal Landmark at the corner of Clark and Addison no matter what product is on the field.