The latest Diamond Sports Group contract is a sign of better times for MLB free agents

The Kansas City Royals aren't exactly a linchpin for the Major League Baseball offseason. But the situation surrounding their regional sports network, FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City, might be telling of a broader fact around the sport.

Tuesday, the Royals announced they reached an agreement with Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the FanDuel RSNs, to produce and air games in 2025.

As part of the deal, streamers throughout the Royals' home territory will also be able to watch games through Amazon Prime Video as an add-on subscription. "Customers will be able to subscribe to and watch their local FanDuel Sports Network content, including live games and pre- and post-game programming directly through Prime Video," according to MLB.com.

With the announcement, all 30 teams have chosen a broadcast and/or streaming partner to air live games in 2025. This is notable beyond what it means for Royals fans. It's a good sign for the financial health of a league in which local television revenues are tied directly to what teams are willing to spend on free agents.

We have already seen the pace of free agency pick up relative to a year ago. Pitcher Blake Snell, for example, did not sign a contract for 2024 with the San Francisco Giants until spring training had already begun, on March 19. After declining his contract option for 2025, he waited less than a month into the new offseason to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Speaking at his introductory press conference Tuesday in Los Angeles, both Snell and his agent, Scott Boras, said Snell was no less motivated to sign quickly this year compared to a year ago. MLB teams, on the other hand, were more ready to negotiate this time around. Boras even hypothesized that an improvement in the local television-rights situations might have played a hand in that.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post, speaking on Monday's episode of Foul Territory, said the Royals specifically were among the teams that inquired about Juan Soto, the star free agent this offseason.

Kansas City isn't among the five finalists for Soto, who is reportedly seeking $700 million. But the fact that the Royals took the initiative to even kick the tires is telling. A team with no certainty around their revenues is less tempted to even ask where the bidding starts, and perhaps there were many more of those a year ago.

For now at least, the RSN turmoil in MLB seems to have calmed down.

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