There are seven MLB franchises among Forbes' top 50 most valuable in the world
The Bronx Bombers are worth an estimated $3.4 billion, up six percent from last year
By
Mike Axisa
•
1 min read
It's no secret MLB is healthier financially right now than it's ever been before. Attendance continues to climb and television contracts are smashing records each year. Baseball is flush with cash, even if the owners don't act like it all the time.
According to the latest Forbes valuations, the Yankees remain the most valuable franchise in baseball at an estimated $3.4 billion. That's up 6 percent from last season. The Yankees saw their attendance drop 5.5 percent last year, the first year of the post-Derek Jeter era, but they still led the AL with 39,430 fans per game.
A total of seven MLB franchises ranked among Forbes' list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world. The NFL's Dallas Cowboys ($4 billion) and soccer clubs Real Madrid ($3.65 billion) and Barcelona ($3.55 billion) sit in the top three spots. The Yankees are fourth. Here are the top seven baseball franchises:
- New York Yankees - $3.4 billion (up 6 percent)
- Los Angeles Dodgers - $2.5 billion (up 4 percent)
- Boston Red Sox - $2.3 billion (up 10 percent)
- San Francisco Giants - $2.25 billion (up 12 percent)
- Chicago Cubs - $2.2 billion (up 22 percent)
- New York Mets - $1.65 billion (up 22 percent)
- St. Louis Cardinals - $1.6 billion (up 16 percent)
There are three distinct tiers here. There's the Yankees are all by themselves in the top tier. They're worth nearly $1 billion more than the next most valuable MLB franchise. The Dodgers, Red Sox, Giants, and Cubs populate the second tier. There's a pretty big gap between tier two and tier three, which houses the Mets and Cardinals.
The Angels, Nationals, Phillies, Rangers, and Tigers have historically been among the most valuable MLB franchises as well. They figure to be somewhere in the 8-12 range in some order after those seven teams above. The Athletics, Marlins, and Rays are typically the three least valuable franchises each year.
