SPORTS

10 Most Valuable sports teams in the World!

July 16, 2015

Spanish football club Real Madrid once again leads Forbes' most valuable teams list, which mostly includes National Football League franchises.

According to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, up three spots from last year, and Major League Baseball's New York Yankees, up from fourth place in 2014, were tied for second with a value of $3.20 billion.

Global soccer power Barcelona ($3.16 billion) and Manchester United ($3.10) rounded out the top five.

The value of the 10-times European champions fell five percent from last year to $3.26 billion due to a drop in the euro versus the US dollar, but revenue of $746 million, the highest of any team, kept them top, Forbes said in a statement.

The NFL led all sports with 20 franchises in the top-50, followed by MLB (12), the National Basketball Association (10) and soccer (7).

Formula One's Ferrari (1.35 billion) were ranked 32nd while the Toronto Maple Leafs ($1.3 billion), tied in 37th, were the only National Hockey League team on the list.

According to Forbes, which began valuing sports franchises in 1998, the world's 50 most valuable teams are worth an average $1.75 billion, up 31 percent from 2014.

Forbes also said the minimum valuation to make the cut rose to $1.15 billion, up from $856 million a year ago, due largely to the soaring worth of NBA and MLB teams.

The 10 most valuable teams (in billions):

1. Real Madrid (Soccer) - $3.26 Photograph: Denis Doyle/Getty Images

2. Dallas Cowboys (NFL) - $3.20 Photograph: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images


 

2. New York Yankees (Baseball) - $3.20 Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

 

4. FC Barcelona (Soccer) - $3.16 Photograph: Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

5. Manchester United (Soccer) - $3.10 Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

6. Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) - $2.60 Photograph: Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

6. New England Patriots (NFL) - $2.60 Photograph: Jim Rogash/Getty Images

8. New York Knicks (NBA) - $2.50 Photograph: Elsa/Getty Images

9. Los Angeles Dodgers (Baseball) - $2.40 Photograph: Rob Carr/Getty Images

9. Washington Redskins (NFL) - $2.40. Photograph: Patrick Smith/Getty Images

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