How the MLB Players Association Spends Revenue (2024)

The Major League Ball Players Association (MLBPA) is a tax-exempt non-profit professional trade union representing 6,700 ball players in the major league (1,200) and the minor league (5,500) – the players on the 30 major league teams with 40-men rosters and the 5,500 minor league players employed by the major league teams.

Based in New York, NY, the MLBPA has 1 related/affiliated tax-exempt organization (MLBP Trust) and two related organizations taxable as a corporation or trust (MLBP, Inc to manage group licensing and MLBPA Blocker 1 Inc to manage investing).

Key financial information (2024) includes:

• Revenue:  $185 million
• Major Sources of Revenue:  Royalties ($92 million) and dues ($82 million or an average of $12,000 per player)
• Members:  6,700
• Expenses:  $116 million
• Major Expenses:  Compensation ($24 million), Licensing-Related Expenses ($8 million), Fees for Services ($7 million), Office-Related ($6 million), Travel and Conferences ($3 million), grants ($2 million), and other expenses ($1 million)
• Number of Employees:  94
• Net Assets:  $274 million

The MLBPA spent $51 million (27% of revenue) on compensation, licensing rights, fees for outside services, office-related expenses, travel and conferences, grants, and other expenses. Because only 27% of revenue was spent for organizational expenses, the MLBPA refunded $65 million (35% of revenue) back to members (which is unusual and could be due to accumulated financial reserves previously withheld in the event of anticipated labor conflicts).  In other words, for every $100 in revenue received, the funds were used as follows:

 $100:  Revenue

-$ 13;  Compensation

-$  4:  Licensing-Related Expenses

-$  4:  Fees for Services

-$  3:  Office-Related Expenses

-$  2:  Travel/Conferences/Other Expenses

-$  1:  Grants

-$ 27:  Total Organization Expenses

 $ 73:  Remaining Revenue

-$ 35:  Refund of Excess Dues to Members

 $ 38:  Unspent Revenue:  To General Fund

At year-end, MLBPA applied unspent revenue – $38 out of every $100 collected or a total of $69 million – to the general fund which brought the net asset balance to $274 million.

To read the IRS Form 990 (2024), click here.