Rob Manfred: Expansion fees for MLB teams could rise to $2.2 billion range

Major League Baseball would consider expansion fees in the range of $2.2 billion for new franchises, commissioner Rob Manfred said Tuesday during SporticoLive's online discussion of its estimates to baseball franchise valuations, per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN).

The average estimated value of an MLB franchise is $2.2 billion, with the New York Yankees leading the way at $6.75 billion. 

Manfred has said in the past that the league will not consider expanding until the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays have new ballparks. The A's have proposed a new stadium in downtown Oakland and the Rays are considering splitting time between Tampa Bay and Montreal in the future. 

MLB has mentioned several cities as possible future expansion sites, including Charlotte, Las Vegas, Montreal, Nashville, Portland and Vancouver. 

The league has not added a new franchise since 1998 when the Rays paid $130 million to join. The Colorado Rockies and Miami Marlins each paid $95 million to join in 1993.