Rogers Communications has begun circulating a $18 billion enterprise valuation for its 75% stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and outright ownership of the Toronto Blue Jays, according to three people familiar with the process. The telco hired Goldman Sachs in December to gauge institutional appetite for either a minority sale or full exit from both properties, though no formal mandate exists.

The number reflects a 40% premium to MLSE's last whisper valuation of roughly $10 billion in 2023, when Bell Canada and Larry Tanenbaum's Kilmer Group held the other 25%. Rogers is separately valuing the Blue Jays at $3.2 billion, roughly 2.7x the Mets' $2.4 billion 2020 sale price adjusted for franchise revenue inflation in the American League East. The combined $18 billion ask assumes a buyer takes both entities or structures a deal where Rogers retains media rights to Blue Jays games through its Sportsnet network, which delivered $1.1 billion in revenue last year.

The timing is leverage arithmetic. Rogers closed its $26 billion Shaw Communications acquisition in April 2023, inheriting $24 billion in net debt. Current net leverage sits at 4.8x adjusted EBITDA, above the company's stated 4.0x comfort zone and well above peer Telus at 3.1x. Rogers promised bondholders a deleveraging path; selling sports assets at a nosebleed multiple is cleaner than cutting the $0.50 quarterly dividend that costs $2.5 billion annually.

The MLSE piece is complicated. Bell and Tanenbaum have right of first refusal on any stake sale, and both have publicly said they'd pay to consolidate control of the Maple Leafs, Raptors, Toronto FC, and Scotiabank Arena. Bell's CEO Mirko Bibic told analysts in November the company views MLSE as "strategic infrastructure," which is code for we'll match. Tanenbaum's Kilmer Group is smaller but has co-invested with Sixth Street Partners on prior sports deals; Sixth Street holds $75 billion in dry powder and already owns pieces of the San Antonio Spurs and Real Madrid. A three-way auction between Bell, Kilmer-Sixth Street, and an outside bidder like RedBird Capital or Harris Blitzer would set the top comp for a Canadian sports entity.

The Blue Jays valuation is harder to justify. MLB franchises sold in the past three years averaged 2.1x revenue; the Jays did roughly $350 million in 2023, which pencils to $735 million at league median, not $3.2 billion. Rogers is presumably adding a control premium for Rogers Centre ownership, plus the embedded value of Sportsnet's exclusive broadcast window through 2030. That window is worth roughly $85 million annually in advertising and carriage fees, per Kagan data, or $1.2 billion discounted at 8%. Even so, the math only works if a buyer believes the AL East rights escalator—next negotiated in 2029—doubles that figure when Apple or Amazon enter bidding.

What to watch: Rogers will host a strategic review update on its March 15 earnings call, where CFO Glenn Brandt typically pre-announces asset sale mandates. Bell's board meets in mid-April to approve capital allocation for fiscal 2025; if they greenlight an MLSE bid, deal docs circulate by June. Tanenbaum is speaking at the Paley International Council Summit on May 8 in New York, which is when these things get done in the Mandarin Oriental lobby. The Blue Jays' payroll is $167 million this season, ninth in MLB; if Rogers is selling, expect that number to stay flat rather than chase the Yankees at $315 million.

The $18 billion number will move. It's a first-round ask designed to surface who has $5 billion in equity and eighteen months to close. If Bell matches, Rogers walks with $13.5 billion in MLSE proceeds and keeps the Jays. If Tanenbaum matches, Rogers exits both and Bell files an antitrust objection with the Competition Bureau, delaying close into 2026. If neither bites, the number becomes $15 billion by July and someone from Abu Dhabi's call gets returned.