Brewers’ TV deal legal drama threatens to completely derail their offseason plans

In a recent report from Evan Drellich of The Athletic, it sounds like Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports, is considering dropping coverage of multiple teams they currently carry on their roster. Unfortunately, that is less than optimal news for the Milwaukee Brewers.

During a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Diamond suggested they would cut multiple teams loose from their contracts for the upcoming season. This includes the Brewers, who could be in trouble when it comes to their coverage. Diamond will void the contracts of the Tigers and Rays while "attempting to renegotiate" the deals with the Reds, Royals, Angels, Cardinals and Marlins.

The Brewers, along with the Guardians, Twins and Rangers, all had their contracts expire at the end of the 2024 regular season. As of right now, the only team completely untouched by these moving parts would be the Braves.

Brewers' TV contract questions with Bally Sports puts them in a tough spot

Nothing has been fully set in stone yet, but Diamond has made it clear that they want to revisit the contracts of all non-Braves teams under their umbrella. In a report from JR Radcliffe of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio suggested that the club could either re-up with Diamond for one more year, turn their broadcasts over to Major League Baseball (like the Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks did this year), or go a "do it yourself" route, but that'd be the most difficult one to pull off.

As of right at this moment, it's unclear how this is going to affect the Brewers. It seems that they may have to try and find a new way to get their broadcasts to local fans. Having a hard time getting viewers likely means less money coming into the organization's pockets as a whole unless they can at least match what their previous TV deal was giving them. In turn, this would give the Brewers less money to work with in free agency.

That right there is the big issue. The Brewers, as we all know, are rarely near the top of the league in total payroll. They've historically been a cash-tight team and they're currently at a point where they need all the help they can get financially, especially when it comes to signing some big fish, or even re-signing a player like Willy Adames.

This situation will be one worth following closely, as it will directly affect how Brewers fans can watch their home team moving forward. At the same time, the Brewers need to try and find a deal that will also allow them to bring some much-needed funds in with the offseason quickly approaching. Otherwise, they are going to have to really hope their minor league talent pipeline remains fruitful for the foreseeable future.

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