US team most valuable franchise for 3rd straight year

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

The National Football League's Dallas Cowboys is the world's most valuable sports franchise for the third consecutive year, according to Forbes magazine Wednesday.

The Dallas Cowboys' value increased to $4.8 billion, up 14 percent from $4.2 billion last year, Forbes said in a statement.

In addition, the team had the highest revenue with $840 million, and earnings of $350 million of any sports franchise in the world, according to the magazine.

English football powerhouse Manchester United saw its value rise by 12 percent to $4.12 billion in 2018 to rank second on the list, while Spanish giant Real Madrid was up by 14 percent to $4.09 billion to take third place on the list of the 50 most valuable teams.

In fourth pace was Spanish club Barcelona, upping its value 12 percent to $4.06 billion, followed by American baseball powerhouse the New York Yankees which rose 8 percent in value to $4 billion and rounded out the top five.

"The world’s most valuable sports teams of 2018 are worth a cumulative $137 billion, and the average current value of these 50 teams is $2.74 billion, the highest to date, which is an increase over last year when the average value was $2.5 billion," Forbes said.

With the help of three National Basketball Association championships in the past four seasons, the Golden State Warriors jumped 10 spots to just get in the top 10 this year with $3.1 billion.

The Houston Rockets was the biggest gainer jumping 14 spots to rank 40th place with $2.2 billion.

“There has never been a better time to own a top-notch pro sports franchise,” Kurt Badenhausen, Senior Editor in Forbes Media, said in the statement. “Blockbuster TV contracts and owner-friendly collective bargaining agreements are fueling record sale prices across major sports leagues.”

The NFL came on top for second straight year among sports leagues as it landed 29 teams among the top 50.

While NBA had eight teams, European soccer had seven, and U.S.' Major League Baseball had six teams on the list. No hockey, Formula One or NASCAR teams made the list.