Most Valuable Sports Teams in the World

1. Value: $3.26 billion 1 year change: 5% Owner: Club members Real Madrid won the Champions League for a record tenth time last year and is the most valuable sports team in the world for the third straight year. .....

Dallas Cowboys

2. Value: $3. 2 billion 1 year change: 39% Owner: Jerry Jones The NFL s most valuable team generates more than $100 million annually from sponsorships led by its 25 year, $500 million stadium naming rights deal with AT&T. .....

New York Yankees

3. Value: $3.2 billion 1 year change: 28% Owner: Steinbrenner family The Yankees missed the postseason for the second consecutive season in 2014 and only the third time since 1994. But the Bronx Bombers still finished tops in the American League in attendance, averaging 42,520 fans per game. .....

Barcelona

4. Value: $3.16 billion 1 year change: 1% Owner: Club members Barcelona captured its fourth Champions League title in the past decade. The win was worth $64 million in prize money for Barca and will propel Barca s revenue to more than $650 million. .....

Manchester United

5. Value: $3.1 billion 1 year change: 10% Owner: Glazer family Manchester United signed a record shattering $1.1 billion, 10 year dual global sponsorship and licensing deal with Adidas that begins with the 2015 16 season. .....

Los Angeles Lakers

6. Value: $2.6 billion 1 year change: 93% Owners: Jerry Buss Family Trusts, Philip Anschutz The team posted their worst record in franchise history at 21 61, which pushed TV ratings down 27% after a 54% drop the previous year. The Lakers still rank as the league s most profitable team thanks to their $4 billion, 20 year TV deal with Time Warner. .....

New England Patriots

7. Value: $2.6 billion 1 year change: 44% Owner: Robert Kraft The Patriots captured their fourth Super Bowl title of the Brady/Belichick era under a cloud of controversy regarding the Deflategate scandal. The Pats have the highest ticket prices in the NFL. .....

New York Knicks

8. Value: $2.5 billion 1 year change: 79% Owner: Madison Square Garden Co. The Knicks posted a franchise worst 17 65 record during the 2014 15 season, but still generate nearly $300 million a year in revenue thanks to the NBA s priciest tickets and luxury suites that cost up to $1 million. .....

Los Angeles Dodgers

9. Value: $2.4 billion 1 year change: 20% Owner: Guggenheim Baseball Management The Dodgers raked in more than $120 million in local television money last season, the most in baseball, as part of the team s 25 year, $8.35 billion deal with Time Warner Cable. Attendance was also tops in MLB. .....

Washington Redskins

10. Value: $2.4 billion 1 year change: 41% Owner: Daniel Snyder The Redskins once boasted a season ticket waiting list of more than 200,000 names, but this spring the club removed thousands of seats at FedEx Field for the third time in 5 years. The team is 7 25 over the past 2 seasons. .....

Bayern Munich

11. Value: $2.35 billion 1 year change: 27% Owner: Club members Bayern Munich has reached at least the semifinals of the Champions League for 4 straight years. Club revenue is up 41% over the past 2 years. .....

Boston Red Sox

12. Value: $2.1 billion 1 year change: 40% Owners: John Henry, Thomas Werner One year after capturing their third World Series since 2004, the Red Sox won just 71 games and finished last in the AL East. Viewership on NESN, the team s 80% owned regional sports network, averaged 114,000 viewers per game, 36% less than the previous season. .....

New York Giants

13. Value: $2.1 billion 1 year change: 35% Owners: John Mara, Steven Tisch Even with $40 million annual payments to service stadium debt, the Giants have made a killing since MetLife Stadium opened in 2010. Ticket prices are third highest in the NFL. .....

Chicago Bulls

14. Value: $2 billion 1 year change: 100% Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf The Bulls led the NBA in attendance during the 2014 15 season for the sixth straight year, averaging 21,343 fans per game at the United Center. Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who also owns MLB s Chicago White Sox, owns half of the arena. .....

San Francisco Giants

15. Value: $2 billion 1 year change: 100% Owner: Charles Johnson The Giants third World Series victory in 5 seasons helped make them the third most profitable team in baseball in 2014. .....

Houston Texans

16. Value: $1.85 billion 1 year change: 28% Owner: Robert McNair The Texans jumped from 2 wins to 9 last season, although still missed the playoffs for the 11th time in the franchise s 13 year history. The team will host the Super Bowl in 2017 at newly rebranded NRG Stadium. .....

Chicago Cubs

17. Value: $1.8 billion 1 year change: 50% Owner: Ricketts Family In February, MLB approved the sale of a minority interest in the Cubs (including the team s equity in CSN Chicago, Wrigley Field, and nearby real estate that is going to be developed) to several investors for an aggregate of $150 million. The enterprise value placed on the team and Wrigley Field was $1.8 billion. .....

New York Jets

18. Value: $1.8 billion 1 year change: 30% Owner: Robert Wood Johnson IV Woody Johnson cleaned house in December by firing coach Rex Ryan and GM John Idzik. The cause: four straight non winning seasons after reaching the AFC title game back to back years. .....

Philadelphia Eagles

19. Value: $1.75 billion 1 year change: 33% Owner: Jeffrey Lurie The Eagles are financially one of the NFL s strongest clubs with the seventh highest revenue in the sport, but they are looking up at their NFC East brethren: Cowboys, Redskins and Giants, who all rank among the NFL s top 4 revenue teams. .....

Boston Celtics

20. Value: $1.7 billion 1 year change: 94% Owners: Wycliffe & Irving Grousbeck, Robert Epstein, Stephen Pagliuca The Celtics are one of the NBA s most profitable teams since they pay no rent at TD Garden and pull in over $60 million a year in local television revenue, including their equity stake in Comcast SportsNet New England. .....

Chicago Bears

21. Value: $1.7 billion 1 year change: 36% Owner: McCaskey family The Bears have made the playoffs only once over the past 8 seasons. Ticket demand is still high despite the losing and fourth highest ticket prices in the NFL. .....

Los Angeles Clippers

22. Value: $1.6 billion 1 year change: 178% Owner: Steve Ballmer Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer purchased the Clippers for $2 billion last year from Donald Sterling and his wife Shelly. The second highest bid for the Clippers was $1.6 billion and the third highest offer $1.2 billion. .....

San Francisco 49ers

23. Value: $1.6 billion 1 year change: 31% Owners: John & Denise DeBartolo York The San Francisco 49ers opened their new, privately financed, 68,500 seat stadium in Santa Clara last summer. Levi s Stadium will also host Super Bowl 50 in February. The 49ers have a $220 million, 20 year naming rights deal with Levi Strauss. .....

Baltimore Ravens

24. Value: $1.5 billion 1 year change: 22% Owner: Stephen Bisciotti The Ravens $100 average ticket price ranks eighth in the NFL, despite the team playing in the 21st biggest market. Six playoff appearances in seven seasons keeps ticket demand high. .....

Brooklyn Nets

25. Value: $1.5 billion 1 year change: 92% Owners: Mikhail Prokhorov, Bruce Ratner Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has shopped a stake in the Nets in recent years, but investors aren t willing to meet his asking price for a club that posted the biggest loss in NBA history during the 2013 14 season. .....

Denver Broncos

26. Value: $1.45 billion 1 year change: 25% Owner: Pat Bowlen Trust Last year was a time of transition for the Broncos as longtime owner Pat Bowlen stepped away from running the team to continue his battle with Alzheimer s disease. Coach John Fox and the team mutually parted ways in January after a disappointing playoff exit in the divisional round. .....

Indianapolis Colts

27. Value: $1.4 billion 1 year change: 17% Owner: James Irsay QB Andrew Luck led the Colts to the playoffs with identical 11 5 records in each of his three seasons since being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2012. Luck s next contract is likely to be the richest in NFL history. .....

St Louis Cardinals

28. Value: $1.4 billion 1 year change: 71% Owner: William DeWitt Jr. The Cardinals have become baseball s model franchise on and off the field. The Cards have only one losing season over the past 15 years with 11 playoff appearances. The team had the highest local TV ratings in the sport last year. .....

Green Bay Packers

29. Value: $1.38 billion 1 year change: 16% Owner: Shareholder owned The Packers added 7,000 seats to historic Lambeau Field for the 2013 season. The 80,750 capacity is the NFL s third largest despite Green Bay being the NFL s smallest market by a long shot. .....

Manchester City

30. Value: $1.39 billion 1 year change: 59% Owner: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Etihad Stadium s seating capacity is being increased from 47,700 to 55,000 for the 2015 16 season, which will make it the third largest stadium in the Premier League. .....

Chelsea

31. Value: $1.37 billion 1 year change: 58% Owner: Roman Abramovich In February Chelsea inked a 5 year, $300 million shirt sponsorship deal with Japanese tire manufacturer Yokohama Rubber. The deal is worth twice as much annually as its prior pact with Samsung Electronics. .....

Ferrari

32. Value: $1.35 billion 1 year change: 13% Owner: Fiat Group Ferrari is far and away the biggest name in Formula One. No team spends more than the Italian squad. Ferrari gets over $200 million annually from just 3 sponsorship partners (Shell, Santander and Philip Morris Marlboro). .....

New York Mets

33. Value: $1.35 billion 1 year change: 69% Owners: Fred & Jeff Wilpon, Saul Katz The Mets posted baseball s third largest average local television audience in 2014. Despite the team s sixth consecutive season with a losing record, SNY New York, 65% owned by the Mets, averaged 125,000 viewers per game, almost 8% more than the previous season. .....

Pittsburgh Steelers

34. Value: $1.35 billion 1 year change: 21% Owners: Daniel Rooney, Art Rooney II The Pittsburgh Steelers added 2,400 seats, including 837 premium seats, to Heinz Field ahead of the 2015 season. The team will impose a $1 ticket surcharge to pay for the renovation. .....

Seattle Seahawks

35. Value: $1.33 billion 1 year change: 23% Owner: Paul Allen Seattle s 22 2 home record over the last three seasons is tied with Denver for the best in the NFL thanks to support from the team s famed 12th man. The club has sold out 105 consecutive games, including playoffs, since 2003. .....

Arsenal

36. Value: $1.31 billion 1 year change: 2% Owner: Stanley Kroenke Arsenal signed a new 5 year kit deal with Puma last year that kicked off with the 2014 15 season and averages $51 million a year. .....

Golden State Warriors

37. Value: $1.3 billion 1 year change: 73% Owners: Joe Lacob, Peter Guber In June the Warriors captured their first NBA title in since 1975 behind league MVP Stephen Curry. The team is building a new 18,000 seat arena scheduled to open in 2018 a few blocks from AT&T Park in San Francisco. .....

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

38. Value: $1.3 billion 1 year change: 68% Owner: Arturo Moreno The Angels big payroll looked like it might pay off last season as the team posted the best record (98 64) in baseball. But the Angels were swept in 3 games by the Royals in the AL Division Series. .....

Miami Dolphins

39. Value: $1.3 billion 1 year change: 21% Owner: Stephen Ross The Dolphins are in the midst of a $400 million renovation and modernization of 27 year old Sun Life Stadium. Capacity will be reduced 14% to roughly 65,000 seats, but the team hopes to attract future marquee events like the Super Bowl and college football championship. .....

Toronto Maple Leafs

40. Value: $1.3 billion 1 year change: 13% Owners: Bell Canada, Rogers Communications The Maple Leafs have been the NHL s most valuable franchise for nine straight years. The team prints money as the sole pro hockey team in Canada s biggest market. The Leafs charge the highest ticket prices in the NHL and have sold out home games for more than a decade. .....

Washington Nationals

41. Value: $1.28 billion 1 year change: 83% Owner: Lerner Family The Nationals were tabbed as World Series favorites in Vegas after signing free agent pitcher Max Scherzer to a seven year, $210 million contract. The deal includes the largest deferral in the history of baseball, $105 million, which will be paid out in equal $15 million installments each July 1 between 2022 and 2028. .....

Carolina Panthers

42. Value: $1.25 billion 1 year change: 18% Owners: Jerry Richardson, Carolina PSLFC The Panthers locked up franchise QB Cam Newton in June to a 5 year, $103.8 million deal. The former No. 1 overall pick set an NFL QB record with 14 rushing TDs his rookie year. .....

Houston Rockets

43. Value: $1.25 billion 1 year change: 61% Owner: Leslie Alexander Last year a federal bankruptcy judge approved the reorganization of CSN Houston, the failed network jointly owned by Comcast, the Rockets and MLB s Houston Astros that was unable to gain widespread coverage. The Rockets and Astros emerged with a new local television home, Root Sports Southwest. .....

Philadelphia Phillies

44. Value: $1.25 billion 1 year change: 28% Owner: Partnership led by Pat Gillick The Phillies have turned into losers on the diamond, but will be winners on the balance sheet thanks to a 25 year television agreement with Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia that starts with the 2016 season and is worth more than $5 billion. The team will own 25% of the RSN. .....

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

45. Value: $1.23 billion 1 year change: 15% Owner: Glazer Family The Bucs turned over the keys to the franchise to QB Jameis Winston, who won the 2013 Heisman Trophy and was selected first overall in the 2015 NFL draft. The Bucs won only 6 games combined the past 2 seasons. .....

Texas Rangers

46. Value: $1.22 billion 1 year change: 48% Owners: Ray Davis, Bob Davis The Rangers finances got a boost last year with a new stadium naming rights deal with Global Life and Accident Insurance. The 10 year deal is expected to be worth as much as $50 million. The team s blockbuster rights deal with Fox Sports Southwest kicks off in 2015. The agreement averages $85 million a year. .....

Miami Heat

47. Value: $1.18 billion 1 year change: 53% Owner: Micky Arison The Heat played 82 playoff games between 2011 and 2014, but the departure of LeBron James kept the team out of the postseason in 2015. Heat TV ratings were off 27% last season with King James in Cleveland. .....

Tennessee Titans

48. Value: $1.16 billion 1 year change: 10% Owner: Adams Family The Titans inked a 20 year stadium naming rights deal with Nissan this summer worth an estimated $100 million. The automaker replaces building products firm Louisiana Pacific, which inked a deal in 2006 for LP Field. .....

Atlanta Braves

49. Value: $1.15 billion 1 year change: 58% Owner: Liberty Media The Atlanta Braves new $672 stadium in Cobb County, expected to be finished in 2017, will use nearly $372 million of public money to build the ballpark. The team plans to develop a $500 million mixed use complex next to the stadium with a hotel, office space, apartments and stores. .....

Dallas Mavericks

50. Value: $1.15 billion 1 year change: 50% Owner: Mark Cuban The Mavericks posted the third highest average attendance in the NBA during the 2014 15 season with 20,187 at American Airlines Center. The Mavs currently have the longest sellout streak in the 4 major sports. They have sold out every game since December 15, 2001 with the streak reaching 620 games this year. .....

Minnesota Vikings

51. Value: $1.15 billion 1 year change: 14% Owner: Zygmunt Wilf The Vikings will move into a new $1 billion stadium for the 2016 season. The team is playing at TCF Bank Stadium, home of the University of Minnesota football team, until the stadium opens. The new stadium got a corporate name in June when U.S. Bancorp inked a deal worth more than $200 million. .....