New York City is the top media market in the entire country. That’s certainly reflected in the sports world with the city home to multiple franchises in almost every major league. While New York teams haven’t been the most success recently, they can certainly be considered that on a financial level. Madison Square Garden tenants New York Rangers and Knicks are two of the top earning teams in their respective leagues despite the two teams having a combined one championship in the last 40 years.
While the city has the market for two teams, there is one team that clearly dominates in each league. For starters, the Rangers are the only New York City NHL team, but that’s the only league with a single team. In the NBA the Brooklyn Nets rival the Knicks, just not in attendance or finances. Granted the Nets have only been in Brooklyn the last two seasons after spending more than a decade in New Jersey. Things are clearer in Major League Baseball and the National Football League. In the MLB it’s the Yankees over the Mets, and in the NFL it’s the Giants over the Jets.
The average secondary market price in MLB is $80.18, and home games on the Yankees schedule far surpass that with an average price of $157.66, a figure that is actually the most expensive in all of baseball. While the Mets top the number as well, it’s just a couple dollars more for an $82.51 average. In the NFL the average is $224.28. Like the Yankees, home games on the NY Giants schedule have one of the higher figures in the league with a $339.40 average, while the Jets are actually below the average at $224.28.
Franchise success has something to do with it. The Yankees have been one of the premier franchises in all of sports, not only making the playoffs seemingly every year, but winning 27 World Series titles in their history as well. While the Mets two World Series victories are a respectable number, they’ve only made the postseason seven times. The Giants have won two Super Bowls since 2007, and four in the Super Bowl era. The Jets schedule has ended with a Super Bowl victory just once, way back in 1969.
But more important than success is longstanding history. The Yankees and Giants were one of the original teams in their respective leagues. The Giants were one of the original NFL franchises and won countless championships before the AFL-NFL merger, while the Yankees are one of the oldest franchises and more than a century old. In comparison the Mets first season was in 1962, while the Jets didn’t join the NFL till the aforementioned merger.
As a big city New York has proven an ability to hold multiple franchises. But within the city there is a clear hierarchy between the teams, with the dominant team usually being the team that has been in the city for longer.