Forbes estimates Pirates to be worth $1.275B

Forbes yesterday released its annual estimate of MLB team values. The Pirates rank 20th at $1.275B. That’s a 1% increase from last year, which was a weaker one-year performance than any team other than the Marlins, whose value was unchanged.

Other figures for the Pirates, with the MLB rank:

Revenue: $254M (25th)
Operating Income: $39M (12th)
Debt/Value: 8% (12th lowest)

I’m a bit skeptical about some of their estimates of operating income, or at least the Yankees’, which they estimate at $29M. That’s pretty hard to fathom. The Dodgers, for instance, come in at a MLB-high $95M even though their revenue was over $100M less than the Yankees’, their payroll a few million more according to Cot’s, and their indebtedness much higher. The Cubs had exactly three times the Yankees’ operating income with $200M less in revenue, a nearly identical payroll, much higher debt and a one-game post-season exit. Most of the other figures, though, look pretty believable.