Forbes released their annual franchise valuations yesterday, and for the 17th straight year, the Yankees are the most valuable franchise in the game. At $2.5 billion, they are more valuable than any other franchise in American sports (Dallas Cowboys are second at $2.3 billion) and $500M more valuable than the Dodgers, who rank second among MLB clubs. The Red Sox are third at $1.5 billion while the Rays bring up the rear at $485M.
“Including the annual average of the $400 million upfront payment the team got for agreeing to sell its controlling stake in the YES Network, to News Corp (now 21st Century Fox), the team raked in over $100 million in cable money last season, by far the most in baseball,” said the write-up. “Even after kicking in $95 million towards the league’s 34% local revenue sharing pool and their $64 million PILOT bond payments for Yankee Stadium last season, the Bronx Bombers led the league in revenue ($461 million).”
The Yankees lost nearly $60M in ticket sales last year and their revenue dropped by $10M overall, so the franchise’s value did not increase as much as it could have with a strong season. Forbes estimated the team’s value at $2.3 billion in 2013, $1.85 billion in 2012, $1.7 billion in 2011, and $1.6 billion in 2010. Bloomberg estimated the franchise’s value at $3.3 billion back in October, for what it’s worth.
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