Football season is upon us which inspired Beth to come up with this question!

Answer:

1. Dallas Cowboys: $5 billion
2. New York Yankees: $4.6 billion
3. Real Madrid: $4.24 billion

Questions:

1. What factors do you think drive the value of a sports franchise? 
2. Do you or your friends spend money to support your favorite teams? What types of things can you/do you purchase?
3. One of the reasons that franchises are worth so much has to do with their latest TV/Cable/Streaming contracts. 
   1. Raise your hand if you watched a sporting event in the last week.
   2. What sport was it and who was playing?

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (Forbes): In 2012, only one sports franchise, Manchester United, was worth over $2 billion. By 2018, 52 teams across all sports are worth that, and more than half of those are NFL teams. It doesn’t seem to be all about winning and losing that determines value. The number one team, the Dallas Cowboys, made it to the Super Bowl 8 times, but the New England Patriots, number 7 on the list, made 11 trips to the big game. And the New York Knicks have had lackluster records for years, yet they are at number 4.

4. Barcelona: $4.02 billion
5. New York Knicks: $4 billion
6. Manchester United: $3.81 billion
7. New England Patriots: $3.8 billion
8. Los Angeles Lakers: $3.7 billion
9. Golden State Warriors: $3.5 billion
10. Tie between New York Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers: $3.3 billion

What drives the value? According to Forbes, 

"The values of sports teams have skyrocketed on the backs of ballooning media rights deals and more owner-friendly collective bargaining agreements that restrain player costs. There are 52 teams across all sports worth at least $2 billion, up from one, Manchester United, in 2012."

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If you're a sports fan, you will love this NGPF podcast with NBA star Troy Murphy

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.