The Chiefs moved up a few spots in Forbes’ list of world’s richest sports teams
A little more than 60 years after Lamar Hunt spent $25,000 to put a team in the new American Football League, the franchise is one of the richest on the planet.
In its annual valuations of the world’s sports team, Forbes had the Chiefs at No. 45 ($2.3 billion), just behind the Jacksonville Jaguars ($2.33 billion) and slightly ahead of the New Orleans Saints ($2.28 billion).
A year ago, the Chiefs were tied for 47th with the St. Louis Cardinals with a value of $2.1 billion.
Atop this year’s list is the Dallas Cowboys ($5.5 billion), followed by the New York Yankees ($5 billion) and New York Knicks ($4.6 billion). Despite the top three spots being held by teams from different sports, the NFL is king.
“Football claims 27 spots on the ranking, a reflection not only of its massive stadium draws but also its TV appeal,” Forbes’ Kurt Badenhausen wrote. “Of the 100 top broadcasts in 2019, 88 were sporting events and 73 were NFL games. The NFL’s current U.S. TV rights are worth $6.5 billion on average per year, a number expected to nearly double in a new deal currently being hashed out, according to sports media consultant Lee Berke of LHB Sports. To help afford it, Fox even backed out of a 12-year deal to broadcast golf’s U.S. Open, with the savings expected to help bankroll a potential $2 billion-a-year NFL deal.”
The highest valued team not based in the United States is Real Madrid, the Spanish soccer giant which is valued at $4.24 billion. That is sixth on the list. Three European soccer teams are among the top 10.
You can view the entire list here.
