The St. Louis Cardinals have reached a slugger of a deal that will give FOX Sports Midwest exclusive broadcasting rights for the next 15 years and rake in a reported $1 billion dollars.
The grand slam deal, which begins in 2018 and runs through 2032, will also give the Cards a minority stake in the network. This deal is major for the team, allowing more than 150 regular season games to be broadcasted on the FOX Sports Midwest network station.
The deal will obviously do wonders for St. Louis financially. It nearly doubles the $35 million the team previously received for broadcasting rights and also allows the team to remain in the top tier of teams that boast mega payrolls that can pay superstar talent.
Cards games are the highest-rated prime-time programming in St. Louis during the baseball regular season, and the local ratings ranked above all other Major League Baseball teams in 2014.
The deal was a no brainer, following the trend of teams signing huge broadcasting deals. If any organization is deserving of the lucrative deal, its the Red Birds. Having been among baseball’s most successful franchises this past two decades, the Cardinals have been to the postseason 12 times, won four National League pennants and two world championships. What a deal.
