New York Mets' Epic September Collapse Costs Team Millions

It was a very costly weekend for the New York Mets, on and off the baseball diamond.

The Mets not only wasted a seven-game lead with 17 games to go to complete one of the worst collapses in baseball history. They forfeited potential millions of dollars by missing the playoffs, that lucrative part of the year all teams and television networks crave beyond measure.

It's tough to compute the exact dollar amount to attach to such a debacle, but the Mets probably would have brought in between $3 million to $5 million in playoff profits in ticket sales and concessions, even if they had played just two home games and been swept in the division series, said Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports marketing consultant.

Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images

And if the Mets, who had a $119 million player payroll in 2007, had played the maximum number of games in each of the three postseason rounds through to the World Series, they could have generated additional "double-digit" millions, Ganis said.

But Ganis said the Mets' real woe isn't necessary lost revenue this October. There's the impact on ticket sales in 2008, the last season of Shea Stadium.

"This really does hurt them, it will take a while for the team, executives and fans to get over this,'' he said. "That means it is time wasted for marketing efforts next year plus the team not meeting expectations in such a heartbreaking manner."

No matter what, this is a giant misstep for the franchise which will move into its new ballpark - Citi Field - in 2009. When corporate buyers mull suite purchases, that other New York team, the Yankees, may be more appealing.

"This collapse is unprecedented, and certainly, it's never happened when marketing a new stadium,'' Ganis added.

And if the Yankees manage to add a 27th World Series title this month to their glittering dossier?

"The Mets always have to deal with the Yankees being the dominant choice from a marketing perspective,'' Ganis said. "This loss makes it that much tougher for the Mets to overcome."