The 20 Most Valuable Sports Franchises in the World

Major sports leagues around the world are finally playing games again — from European soccer leagues to Major League Baseball and the NBA. The NFL’s season began without a hitch on Sept. 10.

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Using data from Forbes, GOBankingRates identified the 20 most valuable sports franchises in the world. They’re ranked in ascending order from least valuable to most. You’ll also learn about the revenue they earn, who owns them when they bought their teams and for how much.

Last updated: Oct. 28, 2021

• League: MLB
• Sport: Baseball
• Valuation: $3,100,000,000
• Owner: Charles Johnson
• Year purchased: 1993
• Price paid: $100,000,000
• Revenue: $452,000,000

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• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $3,200,000,000
• Owner: Johnson Family
• Year purchased: 2000
• Price paid: $635,000,000
• Revenue: $497,000,000

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• League: NBA
• Sport: Basketball
• Valuation: $3,200,000,000
• Owner: Jerry Reinsdorf
• Year purchased: 1985
• Price paid: $16,200,000
• Revenue: $300,000,000

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• League: MLB
• Sport: Baseball
• Valuation: $3,200,000,000
• Owner: Ricketts Family
• Year purchased: 2009
• Price paid: $700,000,000
• Revenue: $471,000,000

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• League: MLB
• Sport: Baseball
• Valuation: $3,300,000,000
• Owner: John Henry, Thomas Werner
• Year purchased: 2002
• Price paid: $380,000,000
• Revenue: $519,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $3,400,000,000
• Owner: Daniel Snyder
• Year purchased: 1999
• Price paid: $750,000,000
• Revenue: $504,000,000

• League: MLB
• Sport: Baseball
• Valuation: $3,400,000,000
• Owner: Guggenheim Baseball Management
• Year purchased: 2012
• Price paid: $2,000,000,000
• Revenue: $556,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $3,450,000,000
• Owner: McCaskey Family
• Year purchased: 1920
• Price paid: $100
• Revenue: $477,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $3,500,000,000
• Owner: Denise DeBartolo & John York
• Year purchased: 1977
• Price paid: $13,000,000
• Revenue: $530,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $3,800,000,000
• Owner: E. Stanley Kroenke
• Year purchased: 2010
• Price paid: $750,000,000
• Revenue: $423,000,000

• League: EPL
• Sport: Soccer
• Valuation: $3,810,000,000
• Owner: Glazer family
• Year purchased: 2005
• Price paid: $1,400,000,000
• Revenue: $795,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $3,900,000,000
• Owner: John Mara, Steven Tisch
• Year purchased: 1925, 1991
• Price paid: $500, $150,000,000
• Revenue: $547,000,000

• League: La Liga
• Sport: Soccer
• Valuation: $4,020,000,000
• Owner: Club members
• Year purchased: N/A
• Price paid: N/A
• Revenue: $824,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $4,100,000,000
• Owner: Robert Kraft
• Year purchased: 1994
• Price paid: $172,000,000
• Revenue: $630,000,000

• League: La Liga
• Sport: Soccer
• Valuation: $4,240,000,000
• Owner: Club members
• Year purchased: N/A
• Price paid: N/A
• Revenue: $896,000,000

• League: NBA
• Sport: Basketball 
• Valuation: $4,300,000,000
• Owner: Joe Lacob, Peter Guber
• Year purchased: 2010
• Price paid: $450,000,000
• Revenue: $474,000,000

• League: NBA
• Sport: Basketball
• Valuation: $4,400,000,000
• Owner: Jerry Buss Family Trusts, Philip Anschutz
• Year purchased: 1979, 1998
• Price paid: $20,000,000, $268,000,000
• Revenue: $400,000,000

• League: NBA
• Sport: Basketball
• Valuation: $4,600,000,000
• Owner: Madison Square Garden Company
• Year purchased: 1997
• Price paid: $300,000,000
• Revenue: $421,000,000

• League: MLB
• Sport: Baseball
• Valuation: $5,000,000,000
• Owner: Steinbrenner Family
• Year purchased: 1973
• Price paid: $8,800,000
• Revenue: $683,000,000

• League: NFL
• Sport: Football
• Valuation: $5,500,000,000
• Owner: Jerry Jones
• Year purchased: 1989
• Price paid: $150,000,000
• Revenue: $980,000,000

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Methodology: GOBankingRates found the 20 most valuable sports franchises in the world using Forbes’ “The World’s Most Valuable Sports Teams” 2020 data set and sourced the following factors for each team: (1) team name; (2) league/sport played in; (3) valuation; (4) owner(s) name; (5) year purchased; and (6) price paid. GOBankingRates then found each team’s most recent season’s revenues as sourced from Forbes’ league valuations. All data were collected on and up to date as of March 23, 2021.