MLB has agreed to broad terms on a new rights deal with Turner Sports at around a 40% average annual increase, sources said. Nothing has been signed formally, but this new deal will see Turner pay an average of around $470M per year from '22-28 for a rough total of $3.29B. Its expiration will sync with a Fox deal signed in November '18. Turner now pays an average of $325M a year under an eight-year deal that expires after the '21 season. Turner’s 40% increase is in line with MLB expectations. Like Turner’s current deal, the new one, which starts in '22, will be heavily weighted toward the postseason. Read more.
Following news of the media deal, Reds P Trevor Bauer tweeted, "Oh good so ... we can play now, right? Seems there is plenty to [go] around here. Seems there is plenty of money being made by the league and the teams. Given than players are the product, I’m sure some of this can be distributed to them, right? Yay for baseball!" (TWITTER.com, 6/13). Bauer also posted a longer thread breaking down more implications of the Turner agreement.
