Brewers Owner Delivers Bleak TV Money News Amid Opening Day Excitement

Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio isn't always a hero to his fan base, but of late, he's been pulling back the curtain more than most of his peers.

On Thursday, just as the Brewers were getting set to open the regular season against the Chicago White Sox, Attanasio caused a bit of a stir by revealing how the club's ever-changing television broadcast situation was affecting the team.

The Brewers were on FanDuel Sports Network last year, which took over for Bally Sports when its parent company went bankrupt. This season, their broadcast has been taken over by Major League Baseball, and to say the regional sports network model collapsing has hindered the club's finances may be an understatement.

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Attanasio reports $20 million revenue loss

Milwaukee Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio listens to a question while speaking with reporters Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

According to Attanasio, the Brewers expect to lose $20 million in television revenue this year as a result of the changes.

"It actually didn’t (impact) us this year,” Attanasio said, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It probably shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was late breaking news. So we budgeted otherwise, but we were already in the process of doing things.

"We have a lot of flexibility in our balance sheet. We manage the club that way. Sometimes your greatest strength is your biggest weakness. Everybody is, ‘Payroll, payroll, payroll,’ but we have a very strong financial position. And so when surprises come up like that – and that was about a $20-million surprise – it does not affect how we plan for the offseason.”

The Brewers' projected payroll this season is $129 million, per Fangraphs, and much of the $6 million increase from last season has to do with the $22 million qualifying offer for Brandon Woodruff, which represents the largest single-season salary in franchise history for a pitcher.

While Milwaukee's payroll might not be impacted this year, the elephant in the room that Attanasio didn't directly address on Thursday is certainly the impending collective bargaining agreement negotiations this winter, which seem destined to lead to a work stoppage.