Patriots Are 6th-Most Valuable Sports Team For 3rd Straight Year
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots are once again one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world. Forbes has released its annual rankings of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams, and the Pats check in at No. 6, the second-most valuable NFL team behind only the Dallas Cowboys.
The Patriots, who are the No. 2 NFL team for the third straight year, are listed with a value of $3.4 billion. That's an increase of 6 percent over last year, when they also ranked No. 6 at $3.2 billion. They have an operating income of $212 million, compared to $300 million for the Cowboys.
Coming in at No. 2 behind the Cowboys ($4.2 billion) are the Yankees at $3.7 billion. Three soccer teams round out the top-five: Manchester United of the English Premier League ($3.69 billion), Barcelona of La Liga ($3.64 billion), and Real Madrid ($3.58 billion), also of La Liga.
Twenty-nine of the NFL's 32 teams made the list. Only the Bengals, Lions, and Bills missed the cut, according to Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen.
Elsewhere among Boston sports teams, the Red Sox rank 16th at $2.7 billion, ranking behind only the Yankees and Dodgers ($2.75 billion). The Celtics, meanwhile, rank 30th at $2.2 billion, behind only the Knicks ($3.3 billion), Lakers ($3 billion), Warriors ($2.6 billion), and Bulls ($2.5 billion). No NHL, NASCAR, or Formula-1 teams made the cut.
The average value of the top-50 teams has increased to $2.5 billion from $2.2 billion last year. Forbes based team values on their current stadium deals, excluding new stadiums that are pending.
