FIVE BILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF COWBOYS
How are the major sports franchises able to offer star athletes such incredible salaries, now mounting up into the hundreds of millions of dollars these days? Where does the money come from? As business propositions, major league sports are booming and growing bigger year after year.
Every major sports franchise in the USA, including the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) is now valued at over a billion dollars each!
The Dallas Cowboys, for example, are now valued by Forbes at five billion bucks. That’s great news for Jerry Jones, the sometimes controversial owner of the Cowboys, who are the defending NFC East Champions.
All of which makes the Dallas Cowboys the most valuable sports franchise on the planet these days, topping even the big European Soccer Clubs. The National Football League has had the most valuable franchise in the world for four years in a row now. The New England Patriots are now valued at $3.7 billion, second in the NFL.
Seating and sponsorship revenues at AT&T Stadium, also known as ‘JerryWorld’, brings in almost twice as much revenue located between Dallas and Fort Worth as any other sports venue in the country, which is a tribute to their planning and marketing departments. Just check out their ticket prices.
No big surprises when it comes to Major League Baseball, the venerable New York Yankees are valued these days at $4.6 billion, which shows an increase in value of around 15% over last season. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the majors in wins this year, come in at $3 billion with the Chicago Cubs valued at $2.9 billion.
Manchester United now ranks as the third most valuable franchise in the world at around $4.2 billion along with Real Madrid of La Liga, even though they had a less than stellar season last year. Their number one rival Barcelona is next at $4.02 billion.
In the National Basketball Association, the New York Knicks are holding on to the most valued club in the NBA at $3.6 billion with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors not far behind.
Of the top 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world, European Soccer counts for only 8, the NBA has 9 and Major League Baseball has 7. All of the rest belong to the National Football League.
Kurt Badenhausen, a Senior Editor for Forbes, said, “The values of teams in major sports leagues are booming thanks to sky-high TV deals, both local and national. And with revenues growing faster than player salaries, franchises are more profitable that they have ever been”.
