Savannah Bananas Net Worth: How Much Is the Team Worth in 2026?
Savannah Bananas net worth is estimated at $500 million as of 2026. That figure covering the parent company, Fans First Entertainment comes from Forbes, not from the organization itself, which hasn't released its own valuation publicly.
Savannah Bananas Net Worth: The Current Estimate
Forbes put the number at "at least half a billion dollars" in reporting from late 2025, and that estimate has carried into 2026 coverage, with the $500 million figure also confirmed as reported by Bloomberg.
It's worth being precise about what this figure actually represents: it's the value of Fans First Entertainment, the business entity behind the Bananas and their sister teams, not a personal net worth figure for anyone involved.
Who Owns the Savannah Bananas?
Jesse and Emily Cole founded and co-own the organization. They started with a single college summer league team in 2016 and built it into a touring entertainment company that now includes multiple Banana Ball teams, according to Wikipedia.
There's no public ownership stake breakdown beyond the Coles being the founders and operators no shareholder filings, because Fans First Entertainment isn't a public company.
Savannah Bananas Net Worth vs. Jesse Cole's Personal Net Worth
This distinction gets blurred a lot in casual coverage, and it's worth untangling. The $500 million figure describes the business its revenue potential, assets, and growth trajectory as Forbes estimates them.
Jesse Cole's individual net worth isn't separately reported anywhere with any real specificity. Anyone quoting a personal figure for him is likely extrapolating, not citing a documented source.
How Did the Savannah Bananas Become Worth $500 Million?
Growth here has been fast, almost oddly fast for a company that started as a struggling college summer team.
Annual revenue reportedly jumped from around $10 million in 2023 to more than $100 million recently, according to Forbes' reporting.
That's a tenfold increase in roughly two years, which is the kind of number that normally invites skepticism except it lines up with what's publicly visible: sold-out football stadiums, national broadcast deals, and a ticket lottery list running into the millions.
In practice, valuations like this are usually built on a mix of revenue multiples and comparable-entertainment benchmarks, though neither Forbes nor the company has detailed the exact methodology behind the $500 million number.
That's a gap worth acknowledging rather than filling in with a guess.
2026 Investment Breakdown
The organization's own annual report, released by Jesse Cole ahead of the 2026 season, laid out specific spending commitments: roughly $10 million on live-show production, $15 million on travel, and $13 million on broadcast expansion.
Teams commonly report reinvesting heavily during growth phases rather than banking profit, and that pattern shows up clearly here.
Savannah Bananas Revenue and Attendance Numbers
|
Metric |
Figure |
Year |
|
Annual revenue |
~$10 million |
2023 |
|
Annual revenue |
$100+ million |
2026 |
|
Estimated company valuation |
~$500 million |
2026 |
|
Tickets sold |
2.2 million |
2025 |
|
Games/shows played |
113 |
2025 |
|
Scheduled games |
190 |
2026 |
|
Average player salary |
$100,000+ |
2026 |
These numbers come from Forbes reporting and the organization's own annual update. Where a figure is described as an estimate rather than a confirmed internal number, that distinction matters and it's noted above where relevant.
Has Jesse Cole Received Buyout Offers for the Bananas?
Cole has said publicly that he's received buyout offers in the range of $1 billion. That's his own claim, relayed in interviews and reporting, not an independently confirmed figure. No buyer has been named, and no deal terms have surfaced.
At first glance, a $1 billion offer for a company Forbes values at half that seems inconsistent but unsolicited offers often run above market valuation, especially for a brand with this kind of growth curve and no direct comparable.
Cole has also said repeatedly that he's not interested in selling, framing the company's focus as long-term fan-building over short-term profit.
Do Player Salaries Reflect the Team's Growing Value?
Average player salary crossed $100,000 for the first time in 2026, according to the organization's own report a detail that hadn't been disclosed publicly before that year.
For comparison, a Triple-A minor league player typically earns somewhere in the $40,000–$50,000 range for a season roughly 150 games long.
Bananas players work fewer games annually but earn more, plus year-round contracts and full health benefits, per Forbes' 2025 reporting.
It's a separate metric from company net worth, though the two are obviously connected rising revenue is presumably what's funding rising pay.
In practice, salary growth tends to lag valuation growth in most fast-scaling entertainment businesses, and there's no public data yet showing exactly how tightly the two move together here.
How the Savannah Bananas Generate Revenue
Ticket sales remain the core driver, with prices held flat at $35 for minor-league-sized venues and $40 for stadium shows.
Merchandise sales, broadcast licensing to networks like ESPN and TruTV, and YouTube streaming all contribute as well.
The organization has also stated it absorbs certain fees and taxes on ticket and merchandise sales itself rather than passing them to fans an operating choice that affects margins, even if the exact financial impact isn't broken out publicly.
Conclusion
The Savannah Bananas' estimated $500 million valuation reflects Forbes' assessment of Fans First Entertainment, built on rapid revenue growth and expanding attendance.
Exact methodology and personal ownership stakes remain undisclosed, and reported buyout offers are unconfirmed beyond Jesse Cole's own statements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Savannah Bananas net worth figure confirmed by the company itself?
No. The $500 million figure comes from Forbes' independent estimate. Fans First Entertainment hasn't published its own valuation publicly.
What is Jesse Cole's personal net worth?
This isn't publicly documented separately from the company's estimated value. No reliable individual figure has been reported.
How much revenue do the Savannah Bananas make per year?
Reported annual revenue exceeds $100 million as of 2026, up from around $10 million in 2023, according to Forbes.
Are the Savannah Bananas part of MLB?
No. They operate independently, touring as their own Banana Ball league and playing in MLB and NFL stadiums as guests, not league members.
Will the Savannah Bananas' value keep growing?
Recent trends suggest continued growth, but future valuation depends on factors like attendance, broadcast deals, and new team expansion that aren't yet finalized.
