With a 14 percent leap in value to US$4.8 billion, the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday topped the annual Forbes magazine list of the world’s highest valued sports teams for the third consecutive year.
The Cowboys boasted the top revenue of US$840 million and top earnings of US$350 million, followed on the 50-team list by global soccer powers Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
England’s Manchester United were second overall at US$4.12 billion, rising 12 percent and up one spot from last year’s list, while Real Madrid jumped from fifth to third, up 14 percent to US$4.088 billion, keeping Barcelona in fourth on US$4.064 billion, up 12 percent from last year.
Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, last year’s second-most valuable worldwide team, fell to fifth with US$4 billion.
There were 106 global sports clubs valued at US$1 billion or more this year, up from 87 last year.
“There has never been a better time to own a top-notch pro sports franchise,” Forbes Media senior editor Kurt Badenhausen said. “Blockbuster TV contracts and owner-friendly collective bargaining agreements are fueling record sale prices across major sports leagues.”
The Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones, have been boosted by non-NFL events at their US$1.2 billion home stadium, nicknamed “Jerry World.”
In all, the world’s top 50 clubs were worth a combined US$137 billion, with the average current value at US$2.74 billion, up from US$2.5 billion last year.
Just to make the list takes a value of US$1.95 billion — the NFL’s Cleveland Browns finished 50th, up US$200 million from last year.
The NBA’s Houston Rockets made the biggest gain on the list, jumping 14 spots to 40th on US$2.2 billion after Tilman Fertitta bought the team for that price in October last year. The Rockets lost to eventual NBA champions the Golden State Warriors in this year’s NBA Western Conference final.
Record sales prices for clubs in other sports saw the NFL’s Carolina Panthers sell for US$2.3 billion and baseball’s Florida Marlins go for US$1.2 billion.
Golden State, ranked 10th at US$3.1 billion after a third title and fourth NBA Finals appearance in four seasons, jumped 10 spots and the Brooklyn Nets, ranked 36th on US$2.3 billion, also rose, in part due to the league having the best global growth potential.
The NFL remains the world’s richest sports league with unmatched TV deals worth US$255 million per club helping put 29 of its 32 teams on the top-50 global list.
There were eight NBA teams, six MLB clubs and seven European soccer clubs, but no Formula One or NHL teams.
The New England Patriots, Super Bowl losers to the Philadelphia Eagles in February, ranked sixth on the overall list at US$3.7 billion, followed by the NBA’s New York Knicks (US$3.6 billion), the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, the NFL’s New York Giants (US$3.3 billion), the Warriors and the NFL’s Washington Redskins on US$3.1 billion.
The only NFL teams not on the top-50 list were the Cincinnati Bengals (US$1.8 billion), the Detroit Lions (US$1.7 billion) and the Buffalo Bills (US$1.6 billion).
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