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 per cent to $4 billion (€3.6 billion) compared to last year, while the value of 10-time European champions Real Madrid rose 12 per cent to $3.65 billion (€3.28 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 (€6.3 billion) annually from its media partners.”
Soccer’s Barcelona ($3.55 billion; €3.2 billion), Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees ($3.4 billion; €3.05 billion) and Manchester United ($3.32 billion; €3 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.
The 10 most valuable teams (in billions)
1 Dallas Cowboys $4.0
2 Real Madrid $3.65
3 Barcelona $3.55
4 New York Yankees $3.4
5 Manchester United $3.32
6 New England Patriots $3.2
7 New York Knicks $3.0
8 Washington Redskins $2.85
9 New York Giants $2.8
10 Los Angeles Lakers $2.7
10 San Francisco 49ers $2.7
