Royals avoid unnecessary drama with significant off-field contract extension

The Kansas City Royals have their work cut out for them this offseason after a 2025 season that was defined by somewhat reverting to the painful norm of missing the postseason.

GM J.J. Picollo and Co. will have their hands full when trying to upgrade certain aspects of this team, meaning the last thing they'll want to worry about is off-field issues that could leak into how the conduct on the field.

So, the news that came on Tuesday the Royals would be exercising their 2026 option to remain with the Main Street Sports to broadcast games on the FanDuel Sports Network was certainly welcome to say the least.

Royals re-up with Main Street Sports to broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network in 2026

Kansas City isn't far removed from being in the middle of the Diamond Sports Group fiasco that left countless teams in limbo of how they'd be broadcasted and where their broadcasting revenues would come from.

Royals fans now won't have to worry where they'll consume their beloved team in 2026, as the 2025 status quo will remain in place next season, according to an official team press release.

"During the 2026 season, Royals broadcasts will remain available across FanDuel Sports Network's ubiquitous access model, including cable, satellite and vMVPD packages, TV Everywhere (TVE) streaming and the network's direct-to-consumer app, available on iOS, Android, smart TVs, connected devices and Amazon Prime Video," the team said.

And for the team, they now enter the hustle and bustle of the winter months with peace of mind knowing that they'll continue to build on their success with the FanDuel Sports Network in 2026.

"There is nothing more important to us than connecting with and making our games available to our great fans," Royals Chairman and CEO John Sherman said via the same press release. "Our viewership is growing and continues to rank among the best in baseball, both through linear cable and streaming."

The partnership has certainly reaped it's rewards to this point with KC's broadcast being some of the most successful one's in all of baseball in 2025.

"Royals games ranked No. 1 primetime in the Kansas City area and top 10 in Major League Baseball in household rating," the team stated.

Now that that's out of the way, the organization can set their full sights on finding ways to return this team to the postseason-caliber unit it was just a season ago.