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NFL’s Dallas Cowboys unseat Real Madrid to top Forbes’ most valuable teams list
The Dallas Cowboys unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid for top spot on a list of the world’s 50 most valuable sports teams, according to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday that was dominated by NFL franchises.
The Dallas Cowboys unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid for top spot on a list of the world’s 50 most valuable sports teams, according to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday that was dominated by NFL franchises.
The value of the National Football League’s Cowboys rose 25 percent to $4 billion compared to last year, while the value of 10-time European champions Real Madrid rose 12 percent to $3.65 billion over the same period, Forbes said in a statement.
It marks the first time since the list’s inception in 2011 that a non-soccer club has taken the top spot on the list.
“Blockbuster TV contracts are fueling unprecedented increases in sports team values around the globe as the average value of a top 50 franchise has doubled over the past four years,” said Forbes senior editor Kurt Badenhausen.
“The NFL is still king on TV with contracts worth nearly $7 billion annually from its media partners.”
Soccer’s Barcelona ($3.55 billion), Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees ($3.4 billion) and Manchester United ($3.32 billion) rounded out the top five.
The NFL had 27 franchises listed in the top-50 followed by European soccer and the National Basketball Association, who each had eight teams on the list, followed by MLB with seven.
