Bob Nutting has run the Pittsburgh Pirates since January 12, 2007 — and he runs them with a grip on the payroll so tight that Pittsburgh fans chant «Sell the team» even at sold-out games. He’s the fourth principal owner in the club’s modern era and the one who turned profitability into his signature: making money without winning World Series titles. 🏟️
Ownership at a Glance
- Principal owner: Robert «Bob» Nutting
- Controlling group: The Nutting family
- Current group in place since: 1996
- Most recent franchise valuation: $1.62 billion (Forbes, 2026)
Who Is Bob Nutting?
Robert Nutting was born on March 29, 1962, in Wheeling, West Virginia, into a newspaper family four generations deep. His great-grandfather, H.C. Ogden, founded Ogden Newspapers Inc. — a chain that today operates around 40 daily papers across 12 states and is the real source of the family’s wealth. Bob serves as president and CEO of that company. Baseball came later, as an investment.
He joined the Pirates’ board in 2002 as a representative of the Nutting family, which was already a minority shareholder. When the family became the majority stakeholder in 2005, Bob was the one tapped to take the wheel. He formally assumed the role of principal owner on January 12, 2007 — a position he’s held for nearly 20 years.
How He Got the Team
The Nutting family first got involved with the Pirates in 1996 as part of an investor group led by Kevin McClatchy, who served as the original CEO. McClatchy sold his last stake in January 2009, but by then the Nuttings were already the majority owners. The exact price of their initial 1996 entry was never made public.
What is known: the family has multiplied its investment many times over. Forbes valued the Pirates at $1.62 billion in 2026, a 20% jump from the prior year.
| Year | Who Bought |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Investor group led by Kevin McClatchy (Nutting family among partners) |
| 2005 | Nutting family becomes majority owner |
| 2007 | Bob Nutting formally named principal owner |
What Else Does He Own?
Ogden Newspapers remains the crown jewel: roughly 40 daily papers in 12 states, plus niche magazines. In 2021, the family expanded its media footprint by acquiring Swift Communications. That same year, Nutting sold Seven Springs Mountain Resort and Hidden Valley Resort to Vail Resorts for $118 million — two ski properties he had managed for years.
The Pirates aren’t a standalone business either. Nutting holds a stake in SportsNet Pittsburgh, the regional sports network that airs Pirates games, in partnership with Fenway Sports Group and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Owning a piece of the channel that distributes your own product is a rare position among MLB owners.
Where Pirates Games Are Broadcast
The Pirates became partial owners of SportsNet Pittsburgh on December 13, 2023, after Fenway Sports Group acquired it from AT&T. Day-to-day operations are handled by NESN, but Nutting has a voice in how games are distributed. That ownership stake shielded the club from the collapse of FanDuel Sports Network, which hurt several other franchises in 2026. It’s a revenue-control model very few MLB owners can claim.
The Numbers That Tell the Story
- Pittsburgh’s «Sell the Team» chants have become a fixture at PNC Park — erupting at sellouts, showing up as graffiti on the stadium walls, bleeding into a local concert, and even getting picked up by an open mic at the US Open.
- Fans even organized a movement with their own website: ourteamnothis.com.
- The sharpest contrast: the Pirates have Paul Skenes, arguably the most dominant young pitcher in the game — and still ranked 26th out of 30 in MLB payroll in 2025 at $86.46 million, more than $20 million below division rival Milwaukee.
- Journalist Jason Mackey projected the 2026 payroll would stay around $90 million without crossing $100 million.
- The accounting irony: ranked 28th in franchise value, the Pirates still posted $48 million in operating income in 2025 — more than the Braves ($27 million) and far more than the Phillies, who lost $52 million.
- Forbes raised the franchise’s value 20% in 2026, to $1.62 billion. Nutting has grown his investment without winning a World Series since 1979.
- He runs a 40-paper newspaper chain and is simultaneously the most criticized figure in Pittsburgh sports media — a curious tension for any CEO in that business.
Where He Ranks Among MLB’s 30 Owners
- By franchise value: #28 of 30
- By years as principal owner: #9 of 30
Note: dollar figures are nominal and not adjusted for inflation. Comparing a purchase price from decades ago to today’s valuation overstates the real gain.
Nutting sits 28th among MLB’s 30 owners by franchise value, but his real position is that of a businessman who saw baseball as an investment opportunity, not a passion. For nearly two decades he’s kept the payroll near the bottom of the league — generating resentment in Pittsburgh, but also operating profits that outpace far more valuable clubs. His tenure is defined by that tension: a franchise worth more every year, generating real money, but not spending enough to actually compete — and a fanbase that knows it.
