The 15 Most Valuable Professional Sports Franchises

This story was corrected and revised on July 6, 2023.

Owned by Jerry Jones, the titans of the NFC East, have won five Super Bowls. They remain one of the most successful teams in NFL history. More fans on average show up for Cowboys games than any other team in the NFL, with AT&T Stadium capable of seating as many as 100,000 people. (That’s rain or shine thanks to the stadium’s retractable roof.)

Owned by the Steinbrenner family, the Bronx Bombers have won 27 World Series championships and are one of Major League Baseball’s most storied teams. The team generates revenue from ticket sales, of course, but also broadcasting rights, merch, even parking.

The Premier League champs from Manchester, England are that nation’s most successful soccer franchise, with 20 titles, including a World Cup win in 2008. The Glazer family, which has owned the team since 2005, are reportedly considering offers to sell.

Organized as an association and technically owned by its fans, Real Madrid has won 35 La Liga titles and remains one of the most strongest soccer brands in the world. It boasts blue chip sponsorships with BMW, Adidas and Emirates.

Barça, as the legendary team is commonly known, has won 27 La Liga titles and 3 World Cups. In July of 2023, FC Barcelona reported record ticket, merchandise and sponsorship deals, the latter with Nike and Spotify, among others.

Since billionaire Robert Kraft purchased the team in 1994, the Pats have gone on to win six Super Bowl titles, all under legendary coach Bill Belichick, who recruited quarterback Tom Brady. The duo helped forge a dynasty that lasted until 2019, when Brady decamped for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Patriots have reportedly sold out every home game since 1994.

Owned by the combative billionaire James Dolan, the Knicks have won two NBA championships (in 1970 and 1973). Despite a decades-long slump, tickets to Knicks home games at Madison Square Garden remain in-demand, with stalwart celebrity fans like Spike Lee courtside regulars.

Owned by Jeanie Buss, the Lakers have won 17 NBA championships—tied with the Boston Celtics for the most rings in NBA history. The team is synonymous with basketball royalty, having cultivated a roster of superstars including Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Shaq, and Kobe Bryant among them.

Later day basketball legends. The Warriors, owned by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, made it to five back-to-back NBA finals between 2015 and 2019, winning three of them, thanks in good measure to phenoms like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. The team nabbed its latest championship ring in 2022, defeating the Celtics in six games.

Founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team relocated to Los Angeles after the 1957 season ended. The team has won seven World Series, and is considered one of the most valuable Major League Baseball franchises in the league.

Plans are underway to sell the Commanders to private equity mogul Dan Snyder, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers. The Commanders have only won three Super Bowls, the last in 1992. Formerly known as the Washington Redskins, a name which drew decades of criticism as a racist slur, the team officially changed its name to the Commanders in 2022.

The German soccer club has a crowded shelf of honors: 28 Bundesliga titles, 2 FIFA World Cups, 6 Champions League trophies, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 1 UEFA cup. It is Germany’s most successful soccer team. A-list sponsors include Audi, Adidas, Deutsche Telekom and Allianz.

Owned by John Mara and Steve Tisch, the team has won four Super Bowls and has been one of the most successful teams in the NFL since its inception in 1925. The Giants co-own MetLife Stadium with the Jets, and earn revenue from ticket sales, naming rights, broadcast rights and sponsorship deals, in addition to merchandise.

Though they’ve never made it to a Super Bowl, jus one of four NFL teams with the distinction, the Texans remain one of the NFL’s most valuable franchises. Late owner Bob McNair paid $700 million to buy the Texans in 1999; he was looking for a hometown team to replace the Houston Oilers who had relocated to Nashville. Since then, its value has more than quadruped.

Part of the Stanley Kroenke sports empire—he also owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, and the British soccer club Arsenal FC—the Rams have won two Super Bowls, in 2000 and 2021.