The 2025 Postseason Was a Financial Win for the Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays fell short of winning the 2025 World Series, but their lengthy postseason run yielded financial benefits to the players, other personnel, and the team/owner. As Jay Centre’s Leo Morgenstern noted in his article, Details on Blue Jays' Share of Postseason Revenue Pool, Toronto’s players and other employees will share in the $128.2 million players’ pool. The amount allocated to the Blue Jays was $30.8 million. At the club/owner level, there were also financial rewards from the Blue Jays’ postseason journey. From this point forward, unless stated otherwise, any reference to what the Blue Jays received from the postseason run excludes any compensation due to the players or other employees. In other words, the focus is on the financial benefits to the Blue Jays’ company/Rogers Communications.

The first reward is Toronto’s share of postseason gate receipts. This number is not currently publicly available, but we can use the $128.2 million players’ pool figure and other publicly available figures to estimate the amount the Blue Jays received in postseason gate receipts. Let’s get started!

Below is an excerpt from a 2012 FanGraphs article.

Quote

MLB Rule 45 gives the Commissioner’s Office 15% of the paid attendance receipts for all postseason games. The remaining 85% is divided as follows:

• Fifty percent of the paid attendance receipts from the Wild Card games is contributed to the Players Pool. (This provision was added in the new CBA.)
• Sixty percent of the paid attendance receipts from the first three games of the Division Series is contributed to the Players Pool.
• Sixty percent of the paid attendance receipts from the first four games of the Championship Series and the World Series are contributed to the Players Pool.
• All paid attendance receipts not paid to the Commissioner’s Office or contributed to the Players Pool are shared equally between the two teams in each Series or Wild Card game.

My understanding is that the allocation above is accurate except for the Wild Card games. When Wendy Thurm wrote the aforementioned FanGraphs article, the Wild Card round was only one game long, as opposed to the current best-of-three format. Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (Article X), players receive 60 percent of paid attendance receipts for the first two games of each Wild Card Series. 

So, what were the total gate receipts from the 2025 postseason? A back-of-the-envelope calculation is as follows:

1. There were 47 playoff games in 2025, 32 of which were games used to determine the $128.2 million players’ pool amount.
2. Given that the players’ share of the gate receipts is 60% of the games noted in the excerpt, those games are equivalent to 19.2 games (32 games x 0.60).
3. Accordingly, the gate receipts per game are $6.7 million ($128.2 million / 19.2 games).
4. Total gate receipts are the number of games multiplied by the gate receipts per game. Hence, total gate receipts are $314.9 million (47 games x $6.7 million).
5. The Commissioner’s Office would receive $47.2 million ($314.9 million x 0.15).

Accordingly, the "teams’ pool" is $139.5 million ($314.9 million - $128.2 million - $47.2 million).

However, concerning Toronto’s share of gate receipts, we require a more detailed calculation because postseason teams do not share in the teams’ pool per se. Instead, the two teams in each series share equally in the gate receipts allocated to them. Therefore, a more precise estimate of Toronto’s share of gate receipts requires attendance figures and ticket prices for each series. Onto the tables!

Table 1 shows MLB’s 2025 postseason attendance by series. Table 2 presents my estimates of gate receipts by series and the allocation of gate receipts to players, teams, and the Commissioner’s Office. Please note that I increased the average ticket price as the postseason continued. I arbitrarily increased the average Wild Card Series ticket price for the Division Series, Championship Series and World Series by factors of 1.25, 1.50 and 2.00, respectively. I am comfortable with the ticket prices shown because they generated the $128.2 million Players’ Pool figure, and the $316.7 million total gate receipts were within 0.6% of my back-of-the-envelope $314.9 million estimate.

Please note that, for each series Toronto played, the teams’ share of gate receipts was split equally between the ballclubs. Accordingly, the Blue Jays shared gate receipts with the Yankees (Division Series), the Mariners (League Championship Series), and the Dodgers (World Series). Hence, Tables 1 and 2, and the supporting numbers, are essential for calculating Toronto’s share of gate receipts. Behold Table 3!

Toronto’s share of gate receipts was $48.2 million, comprised of the 20 percent share (50% of 40% or $18.2 million, the sum of Rows A) of gate receipts that were also allocated to the Players’ Pool, and the half-share (50% of 100% or $30.0 million, the sum of Rows B) of the gate receipts distributable to the two teams. Lastly, the fee due to the Commissioner’s Office (15% of $48.2 million or $11.3 million) is deducted, leaving Rogers with a tidy net sum of $36.9 million.

In addition to the postseason gate receipts, there are other benefits to the team/Rogers that I cannot calculate. These include increased merchandise, concession, and other game-related revenues attributable to the postseason. Additionally, regular season revenue streams and ticket sales likely increased due to Toronto’s run for the American League East division title. Additionally, 2026 ticket sales should increase due to a successful 2025 regular season and playoff campaign. Lastly, Rogers owns Sportsnet, which holds the Blue Jays' television and radio rights. Although I do not have data to support this claim, Sportsnet’s television ratings, in particular, must have increased substantially, benefiting the broadcaster and, indirectly, Rogers financially.

A non-financial reward of the regular season and postseason could be that free agents are viewing the Blue Jays more favourably as a destination. Toronto’s extended playoff run, together with the enthusiastic nationwide fan support during the regular season and playoffs, should make the Blue Jays more attractive. Indeed, money is a significant factor for free agents, but players may view a team that projects to be a well-supported, successful franchise in 2026 more positively.

The Last Word

For the Toronto Blue Jays and their fans, the 2025 postseason did not culminate in a World Series championship. However, the players and the owner benefited financially from the playoff journey. The players and other employees will participate in their $30.8 million share of the players’ pool. The team/Rogers benefited from an estimated $36.9 million net share of 2025 postseason gate receipts. Other benefits to the team/owner include increased merchandise, concession, and other game-day-related revenue streams. May 2026 bring a World Series championship to the Blue Jays and their fans, as well as more financial benefits from another long postseason journey.