The 20 Most Valuable Sports Franchises in the World
Two things you can safely say about Americans: They love their sports, and football is their first choice, by far. Just look at the valuations for the richest sports franchises in the world. The top 13 franchises are all U.S. teams, and nine of those are NFL teams.
See Our List: 100 Most Influential Money Experts
Also: 5 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000
Using data from Forbes, GOBankingRates identified the 20 most valuable sports franchises in the world, in ascending order from least valuable to most. You'll also learn about the revenue they earn, who owns them, when they bought their teams and for how much.
19. (tie) Miami Dolphins
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $4,600,000,000
Owner: Stephen Ross
Year purchased: 2008
Price paid: $1,100,000,000
Revenue: $533,000,000
19. (tie) Manchester United
League: EPL
Sport: Soccer
Valuation: $4,600,000,000
Owner: Glazer Family
Year purchased: 2005
Price paid: $1,400,000,000
Revenue: $663,000,000
Take Our Poll: Are You Struggling To Keep Up With Your Utility Bills?
18. Denver Broncos
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $4,650,000,000
Owner: Rob Walton
Year purchased: 2022
Price paid: $4,500,000,000
Revenue: $526,000,000
17. Houston Texans
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $4,700,000,000
Owner: Janice McNair
Year purchased: 1999
Price paid: $600,000,000
Revenue: $571,000,000
16. Philadelphia Eagles
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $4,900,000,000
Owner: Jeffrey Lurie
Year purchased: 1994
Price paid: $185,000,000
Revenue: $547,000,000
15. Barcelona
League: La Liga
Sport: Soccer
Valuation: $5,000,000,000
Owner: Club members
Year purchased: N/A
Price paid: N/A
Revenue: $692,000,000
13. (tie) Real Madrid
League: La Liga
Sport: Soccer
Valuation: $5,100,000,000
Owner: Club members
Year purchased: N/A
Price paid: N/A
Revenue: $761,000,000
13. (tie) Las Vegas Raiders
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $5,100,000,000
Owner: Mark Davis
Year purchased: 1966
Price paid: $180,000
Revenue: $563,000,000
12. San Francisco 49ers
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $5,200,000,000
Owner: Denise DeBartolo & John York
Year purchased: 1977
Price paid: $13,000,000
Revenue: $575,000,000
11. New York Jets
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $5,400,000,000
Owner: Johnson Family
Year purchased: 2000
Price paid: $635,000,000
Revenue: $519,000,000
10. Los Angeles Lakers
League: NBA
Sport: Basketball
Valuation: $5,500,000,000
Owner: Jerry Buss Family Trusts, Todd Boehly, Mark Walter
Year purchased: 1979, 2021
Price paid: $20,000,000; $5,000,000,000
Revenue: $316,000,000
8. (tie) Washington Commanders
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $5,600,000,000
Owner: Daniel and Tanya Snyder
Year purchased: 1999
Price paid: $750,000,000
Revenue: $544,000,000
8. (tie) Golden State Warriors
League: NBA
Sport: Basketball
Valuation: $5,600,000,000
Owner: Joe Lacob, Peter Guber
Year purchased: 2010
Price paid: $750,000,000
Revenue: $258,000,000
6. (tie) Chicago Bears
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $5,800,000,000
Owner: McCaskey Family
Year purchased: 1920
Price paid: $100
Revenue: $520,000,000
6. (tie) New York Knicks
League: NBA
Sport: Basketball
Valuation: $5,800,000,000
Owner: Madison Square Garden Company
Year purchased: 1997
Price paid: $300,000,000
Revenue: $298,000,000
4. (tie) New York Giants
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $6,000,000,000
Owner: John Mara, Steve Tisch
Year purchased: 1925, 1991
Price paid: $500, $150,000,000
Revenue: $584,000,000
4. (tie) New York Yankees
League: MLB
Sport: Baseball
Valuation: $6,000,000,000
Owner: Steinbrenner Family
Year purchased: 1973
Price paid: $8,800,000
Revenue: $482,000,000
3. Los Angeles Rams
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $6,200,000,000
Owner: E. Stanley Kroenke
Year purchased: 2010
Price paid: $750,000,000
Revenue: $628,000,000
2. New England Patriots
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $6,400,000,000
Owner: Robert Kraft
Year purchased: 1994
Price paid: $172,000,000
Revenue: $651,000,000
1. Dallas Cowboys
League: NFL
Sport: Football
Valuation: $8,000,000,000
Owner: Jerry Jones
Year purchased: 1989
Price paid: $150,000,000
Revenue: $1,087,000,000
More From GOBankingRates
Andrew Lisa contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: GOBankingRates found the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world using Forbes' "The World's Most Valuable Sports Teams" 2020 data set and sourced the following factors for each team: (1) team name; (2) league/sport played in; (3) valuation; (4) owner(s) name; (5) year purchased; and (6) price paid. GOBankingRates then found each team's most recent seasons revenues as sourced from Forbes' league valuations. All data was collected on and up to date as of October 24, 2022.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The 20 Most Valuable Sports Franchises in the World