Despite the interruption of sporting events during confinement and the decline in club income, most of the major teams weigh even more heavily this year than last year.
Indeed, some teams did not tremble in the face of the coronavirus. This is particularly the case of the New York Mets in baseball. Fred Wilpon, owner of the team for nearly two decades, however recently put on sale his team which could well become the first franchise of Major League baseball to change hands in eight years. The businessman was unwilling to continue raising player salaries, as his team have remained winless in the World Series since 1986.
That hasn’t stopped many potential buyers from coming forward, including hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen and private equity guru Josh Harris. If one of the two men ends up closing the deal, he will have to shell out more than $ 2 billion, as the Mets are among the 57 teams valued beyond that amount. Ten years ago, only the Manchester United club barely came close, with $ 1.83 billion. Today, the honor goes to the Dallas Cowboys football team for leading the highest-grossing clubs for the fifth consecutive year, at $ 5.5 billion, just ahead of the New York Yankees.
For Sal Galatioto, at the head of Galatioto Sports Partners, a sports investment company (which deals in particular with transactions for the Chicago Cubs, the Golden State Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and others), “the multibillionaires who want to get into sports are not lacking at the moment. They will pay a premium. They buy these teams not only on the basis of the numbers, but also on the value of the franchise ”.
When it comes to value, the NFL is well ahead, with American football teams occupying 27 spots in the ranking of the 50 most highly rated teams. This not only reflects the popularity of matches at the stadium, but also on television. Currently, NFL TV rights are around $ 6.5 billion a year in the United States, a figure that could double shortly given a new deal about to be signed. To afford it, Fox even withdrew from a 12-year contract to broadcast the US Open golf course. The savings thus made should help finance a potential agreement of $ 2 billion per year with the NFL.
The NBA comes in second, with 9 teams on the standings. It includes the Brooklyn Nets, recently bought by Joseph Tsai, billionaire co-founder of Alibaba. Three European football teams are also making their way into the top 10 this year, with Real Madrid leading the way. The NHL is once again absent from the list.
For the secondary teams, the Covid-19 was more felt. Several minor league baseball teams are on the verge of bankruptcy, while professional American football league XFL has closed its doors after suspending its season in March. Some teams have managed to keep their heads above water, like the Dallas Cowboys, which made operating profits of $ 420 million in 2018. If this is a record for a sports team, the league average is $ 102 million. It is for this reason that the average length of ownership of a team is four decades, and only one team has changed owners in the past five years.
According to Sal Galatioto, who knows at least half a dozen billionaires eager to buy an NFL franchise, « this scarcity factor is pushing team values up. »
1. Dallas Cowboys – NFL
Value: $ 5.5 billion
Owner: Jerry Jones
Year of acquisition: 1989
Amount disbursed: $ 150 million
2. New York Yankees – MLB
Value: $ 5 billion
Owner: Steinbrenner family
Year of acquisition: 1973
Amount disbursed: $ 8.8 million
3. New York Knicks – NBA
Value: $ 4.6 billion
Owner: Madison Square Garden Company
Year of acquisition: 1997
Amount disbursed: $ 300 million
4. Los Angeles Lakers – NBA
Value: $ 4.4 billion
Owner: Jerry Buss Family Trusts, Philip Anschutz
Year of acquisition: 1979, 1998
Amount paid: 20 million dollars , 268 million dollars
5. Golden State Warriors – NBA
Value: $ 4.3 billion
Owner: Joe Lacob, Peter Guber
Year of acquisition: 2010
Amount disbursed: 450 million dollars
6. Real Madrid
Value: $ 4.24 billion
Owner: collective property
Year of acquisition: N / A
7. New England Patriots – NFL
Value: $ 4.1 billion
Owner: Robert Kraft
Year of acquisition: 1994
Amount disbursed: $ 172 million
8. FC Barcelona
Value: $ 4.02 billion
Owner: collective property
Year of acquisition: N / A
9. New York Giants – NFL
Value: $ 3.9 billion
Owner: John Mara, Steven Tisch
Year of acquisition: 1925, 1991
Amount disbursed: $ 500 million, $ 150 million
10. Manchester United
Value: $ 3.81 billion
Owner: Glazer family
Year of acquisition: 2005
Amount disbursed: $ 1.4 billion
11. Los Angeles Rams – NFL
Value: $ 3.8 billion
Owner: E. Stanley Kroenke
Year of acquisition: 2010
Amount disbursed: $ 750 million
12. San Francisco 49ers – NFL
Value: $ 3.5 billion
Owner: Denise DeBartolo & John York
Year of acquisition: 1977
Amount disbursed: $ 13 million
13. Chicago Bears – NFL
Value: $ 3.45 billion
Owner: McCaskey family
Year of acquisition: 1920
Amount disbursed: $ 100
14 (tied). Los Angeles Dodgers – MLB
Value: $ 3.4 billion
Owner: Guggenheim Baseball Management
Year of acquisition: 2012
Amount disbursed: $ 2 billion
15 (tied). Washington Football Team – NFL
Value: $ 3.4 billion
Owner: Daniel Snyder
Year of acquisition: 1999
Amount disbursed: $ 750 million
16. Boston Red Sox – MLB3
Value: $ 3.3 billion
Owner: John Henry, Thomas Werner
Year of acquisition: 2002
Amount disbursed: $ 380 million
17 (tied). Chicago Bulls – NBA
Value: $ 3.2 billion
Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf
Year of acquisition: 1985
Amount disbursed: $ 16.2 million
18 (tied). Chicago Cubs – MLB
Value: $ 3.2 billion
Owner: Ricketts family
Year of acquisition: 2009
Amount disbursed: $ 700 million
19 (tied). New York Jets – NFL
Value: $ 3.2 billion
Owner: Johnson family
Year of acquisition: 2000
Amount disbursed: $ 635 million
20 (tied). Boston Celtics – NBA
Value: $ 3.1 billion
Owner: Wycliffe & Irving Grousbeck, Robert Epstein, Stephen Pagliuca
Year of acquisition: 2002
Amount disbursed: $ 360 million
21 (tied). Houston Texans – NFL
Value: $ 3.1 billion
Owner: Janice McNair
Year of acquisition: 1999
Amount disbursed: $ 600 million
22 (tied). San Francisco Giants – MLB
Value: $ 3.1 billion
Owner: Charles Johnson
Year of acquisition: 1993
Amount disbursed: $ 100 million
23. Philadelphia Eagles – NFL
Value: $ 3.05 billion
Owner: Jeffrey Lurie
Year of acquisition: 1994
Amount disbursed: $ 185 million
24. Bayern Munich
Value: $ 3.02 billion
Owner: collective property
Year of acquisition: N / A
25. Denver Broncos – NFL
Value: $ 3 billion
Owner: Pat Bowlen Trust
Year of acquisition: 1984
Amount disbursed: $ 78 million
26. Oakland Raiders – NFL
Value: $ 2.9 billion
Owner: Mark Davis
Year of acquisition: 1966
Amount disbursed: $ 180,000
27. Green Bay Packers – NFL
Value: $ 2.85 billion
Owner: collective property
Year of acquisition: 1921
Amount disbursed: $ 100
28. Pittsburgh Steelers – NFL
Value: $ 2.8 billion
Owner: Daniel Rooney Trust, Arthur Rooney II
Year of acquisition: 1933
Amount disbursed: $ 2,500
29. Seattle Seahawks – NFL
Value: $ 2.78 billion
Owner: Paul G. Allen Trust
Year of acquisition: 1997
Amount disbursed: $ 194 million
30. Miami Dolphins – NFL
Value: $ 2.76 billion
Owner: Stephen Ross
Year of acquisition: 2008
Amount disbursed: $ 1.1 billion
31. Atlanta Falcons – NFL
Value: $ 2,755 billion
Owner: Arthur Blank
Year of acquisition: 2002
Amount disbursed: $ 545 million
32. Baltimore Ravens – NFL
Value: $ 2.75 billion
Owner: Stephen Bisciotti
Year of acquisition: 2004
Amount disbursed: $ 600 million
33. Minnesota Vikings – NFL
Value: $ 2.7 billion
Owner: Zygmunt Wilf
Year of acquisition: 2005
Amount disbursed: $ 600 million
34. Manchester City
Value: $ 2.69 billion
Owner: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Year of acquisition: 2008
Amount disbursed: $ 385 million
35. Indianapolis Colts – NFL
Value: $ 2.65 billion
Owner: James Irsay
Year of acquisition: 1972
Amount disbursed: $ 14 million
36. Los Angeles Clippers – NBA
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Value: $ 2.6 billion
Owner: Steve Ballmer
Year of acquisition: 2014
Amount disbursed: $ 2 billion
37. Chelsea FC
Value: $ 2.58 billion
Owner: Roman Abramovich
Year of acquisition: 2003
Amount disbursed: $ 233 million
38 (tied). Brooklyn Nets – NBA
Value: $ 2.5 billion
Owner: Joseph Tsai
Year of acquisition: 2019
Amount disbursed: $ 3.3 billion
39. (tied). Los Angeles Chargers – NFL
Value: $ 2.5 billion
Owner: Dean A. Spanos
Year of acquisition: 1984
Amount disbursed: $ 72 million
40. Houston Rockets – NBA
Value: $ 2.48 billion
Owner: Tilman Fertitta
Year of acquisition: 2017
Amount disbursed: $ 2.2 billion
41 (tied). Carolina Panthers – NFL
Value: $ 2.4 billion
Owner: David Tepper
Year of acquisition: 2018
Amount disbursed: $ 2.28 billion
42 (tied). Dallas Mavericks – NBA
Value: $ 2.4 billion
Owner: Mark Cuban
Year of acquisition: 2000
Amount disbursed: $ 280 million
43. (tied). New York Mets – MLB
Value: $ 2.4 billion
Owner: Fred & Jeff Wilpon, Saul Katz
Year of acquisition: 2002
Amount disbursed: $ 391 million
44. Jacksonville Jaguars – NFL
Value: $ 2.33 billion
Owner: Shahid Khan
Year of acquisition: 2011
Amount disbursed: $ 770 million
45. Kansas City Chiefs – NFL
Value: $ 2.3 billion
Owner: Lamar Hunt Family
Year of acquisition: 1960
Amount disbursed: 25,000
46. New Orleans Saints – NFL
Value: $ 2.28 billion
Owner: Gayle Benson
Year of acquisition: 1985
Amount disbursed: $ 70.2 million
47. Arsenal FC
Value: $ 2.27 billion
Owner: E. Stanley Kroenke
Year of acquisition: 2011
Amount disbursed: $ 1.1 billion
48. Arizona Cardinals – NFL
Value: $ 2.25 billion
Owner: William Bidwill
Year of acquisition: 1932
Amount disbursed: $ 50,000
49 (tied). St Louis Cardinals – MLB
Value: $ 2.2 billion
Owner: William DeWitt Jr.
Year of acquisition: 1996
Amount disbursed: $ 150 million
50. (tied). Tampa Bay Buccaneers – NFL
Value: $ 2.2 billion
Owner: Glazer family
Year of acquisition: 1995
Amount disbursed: $ 192 million
Method
Teams value is based on ratings released by Forbes over the past 14 months, with additional reports from Mike Ozanian and Christina Settimi. The most recent football valuations were released in May 2019. Team values reflect company values (equity plus debt). There are no NHL, Nascar, MLS or Formula 1 teams in the top 50. The first team from one of these franchises to appear in the rankings is the New York Rangers, in 70 th place with $ 1.65 billion.
Article translated from Forbes US – Author: Kurt Badenhausen
