The Price of Prestige: How the MLB All-Star Game Balances Business and Baseball

By: Louisa Lynn

September 23, 2025

Photo Credit: Associated Press

After a month of fan voting, the 95th MLB All-Star Game took place on July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. For one night each summer, baseball monopolizes the spotlight, dominating national attention and fueling significant advertising dollars. Unlike the NBA’s All-Star Game, which saw a 13% year-over-year decline to just 4.7 million viewers, its second-lowest audience ever, and the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which also slumped 18% to a record-low 4.7 million viewers despite a revamped format, MLB’s All-Star showcase continues to draw commercial and cultural relevance. However, its prominence raises a debate: has the event preserved its meaning as a true honor for players, or has commercialization started to overshadow tradition?

Before asking whether commercialization has gone too far, it is important to understand why MLB leans so heavily into it: the All-Star Game is one of the league’s most valuable business properties. For a single night in July, baseball enjoys something no other sport can claim: total dominance of the U.S. sports calendar. With the NBA and NHL seasons long finished and the NFL still in training camps, the midsummer classic stands alone, giving MLB an exclusive national spotlight that advertisers eagerly pay to access. From the players’ perspective, they get one weekend per year to show fans who’s the best of the best. 

This year, FOX, MLB’s broadcast partner, sold out its ad inventory by early June, nearly a month earlier than usual. Thirty-second commercials reportedly cost between $750,000 and $850,000, and over the weekend, FOX generated an estimated $60 million to $63 million in advertising revenue. Beyond television, corporate logos were visible throughout Truist Park and across All-Star Week festivities. From jersey patches to fan fest activations, brands yearned for visibility in front of millions of viewers and thousands of fans on the ground.

MLB has also expanded the event beyond the game itself, transforming it into a weeklong celebration. The Home Run Derby, celebrity softball games, and community engagement events create multiple unique opportunities for sponsors and opportunities for fan engagement. All-Star Week has evolved into a mega-event, part sporting spectacle, part marketing festival, that provides MLB with a lucrative mix of direct revenue and long-term promotional value. For the host city, the stakes are equally high. Hotels, restaurants, and local businesses benefit from the influx of fans, media, and corporate guests. Merchandise sales spike, and local sponsorships flourish. Atlanta, this year’s host, saw a surge in tourism and business activity, while upcoming hosts like Philadelphia (2026) and Chicago (2027) are already preparing to leverage the event for both short-term economic gains and long-term branding.

In short, the All-Star Game is far more than a midseason exhibition: it is a business engine that fuels MLB’s advertising, sponsorship, and tourism strategies. Nevertheless, this commercial success also raises an uncomfortable question: is the spectacle overshadowing the players and the prestige of being an All-Star? 

Some would say yes, the All-Star Game is veering toward spectacle. Yet MLB is undeniably smart. Even after 95 years, the league continues to innovate, introducing the first-ever swing-off to decide a tied game, instead of extra innings. While the format was entertaining and Kyle Schwarber delivered a memorable game-winning moment for the NL, the setup felt wacky. Many of the league’s biggest stars had already left the stadium after playing only a couple of innings, leaving fans to wonder if the showcase was truly about the best players or simply about keeping the cameras rolling. Leaving early makes the idea of an All-Star honor feel more like an obligation. 

As the MLB looks ahead to its centennial All-Star Game, it faces a critical challenge: it must ensure the event remains more than just a marketing machine. If the balance tips too far toward spectacle and sponsorship, the prestige of being called an “All-Star” could lose its value.