Forbes Announces the World’s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams

Forbes releases its annual list of The 2013 World’s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams. Real Madrid takes the No. 1 spot as the most valuable sports franchise, worth $3.3 billion. Soccer teams occupy the next two spots as well: Manchester United comes in at No. 2 with a current value of $3.17 billion and Barcelona ranks No. 3 with a value of $2.6 billion. The New York Yankees are No. 4, valued at $2.3 billion. The Dallas Cowboys, worth $2.1 billion, hold the No. 5 spot. With 30 teams in the top 50, the NFL occupies 60% of this year’s list. The average value of the top 50 teams is $1.24 billion, which is a 16% increase from last year. Forbes has valued sports teams in the major sports leagues since 1998. This list is based on the Forbes valuations done in the past year for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, soccer, Nascar and Formula 1. The 20 non-NFL teams in the top 50 include seven each from baseball and soccer, as well as three from the NBA.

The World’s Top 10 Most Valuable Sports Teams are:

Team	2013 Rank		2012 Rank		Sport		Owner		Current Value ($bil)
Real Madrid	1		2		Soccer		Club Members		$	3.30
Manchester United	2		1		Soccer		Glazer family			3.17
Barcelona	3		8		Soccer		Club Members			2.6
New York Yankees	4		3 (tie)		Baseball		Steinbrenner Family			2.3
Dallas Cowboys	5		3 (tie)		Football		Jerry Jones			2.1
New England Patriots	6		6 (tie)		Football		Robert Kraft			1.64
Los Angeles Dodgers	7		6 (tie)		Baseball		Guggenheim Baseball			1.62
Washington Redskins	8		5		Football		Daniel Snyder			1.6
New York Giants	9		9		Football		John Mara, Steven Tisch			1.47
Arsenal	10		10		Soccer		Stanley Kroenke			1.33

PLUS:
-- New York Sports By The Numbers: NYC teams are among the richest in their respective sport, but how they make their money varies wildly.
-- Winning Isn’t Everything: The LA Dodgers, The NY Knicks, and the Dallas Cowboys have soared in value, despite lukewarm performances on the field and court over the past decade.