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Sportico’s annual list of the sports world’s most valuable teams offered a range of surprises, from the NFL’s lowly Chicago Bears ranking 12, to the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs mired all the way down at 33.
One ranking that shouldn’t surprise anyone: The Dallas Cowboys are still sitting atop sports’ economic mountain.
The team Jerry Jones bought for $140 million in 1989 now regularly ranks atop both Sportico and Forbes’ annual valuations. And although Sportico did not include specific estimates with the top-100 list released Tuesday, the sports business website previously valued the Cowboys at $9.2 billion as recently as August.
Forbes, meanwhile, estimated in September that the Cowboys have enjoyed an 80-percent increase in value over the last five years thanks in large part to an NFL media deal that could be worth $126 billion for the league by 2033 and the fact that Jones owns the club’s 80,000-seat cash cow, AT&T Stadium.
As for non-NFL teams, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, while Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees came in fifth on the heels of their acquisition of Juan Soto. Curiously, the Premier League couldn’t crack the top 10. And outside of Manchester United (13), the only three other soccer teams in the top 30 were Spain’s Real Madrid (19) and Barcelona (23) as well as Liverpool (29).
Patrick Mahomes (left) and Travis Kelce play in a successful team, but in a very old stadiumÂ
Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United is seen celebrating a December goal with Jonny Evans
Juan Soto will make $31 million in his first season in New York, but is expected to sign for more
The most striking trend on the list has little to do with team success, but a team’s ability to profit off a modern stadium or arena. That’s likely why the Chiefs – and 52-year-old Arrowhead Stadium – were outranked by the rival Las Vegas Raiders (15), who benefit from four-year-old Allegiant Stadium, home of Super Bowl LVIII. (Kansas City currently hopes to renovate Arrowhead to increase revenue generated by the stadium)Â
Formula One teams did crack the top-100, including Ferrari (71) and Mercedes (81), while Red Bull came in at 88.
Other soccer teams on the top-100 include Bayern Munich (34), Manchester City (35), Arsenal (57), Paris SG (60), Tottenham (70) and Juventus (98).
No MLS teams cracked Sportico’s top-100 list, and only a handful of NHL clubs qualified: Toronto Maple Leafs (82), New York Rangers (85), Chicago Blackhawks (94), Boston Bruins (97) and Philadelphia Flyers (100).
Sportico released its top-100 list of the most valuable sports franchises on social mediaÂ
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones bought the team for $140 million in 1989. Now it’s worth $9 billion
Both LeBron James’ Lakers and Stephen Curry’s Warriors rank among the top-10 on the listÂ
Another curious trend revealed in the Sportico rankings is that winning a title doesn’t necessarily enable a team to soar up the list.
The defending-champion Chiefs (33), Denver Nuggets (61), Texas Rangers (92) and Vegas Golden Knights (unranked) are all outside the top 30.
Meanwhile, the 4-13 Washington Commanders (11) continued to rank among the world’s most valuable teams, as did the 6-11 New York Giants (5) and the 4-13 New England Patriots (8).Â
In fact, 12 of the top 20 teams play in the NFL, which is coming off its most-watched Super Bowl ever at 123.7 million viewers. Â
