NFL: Dallas Cowboys top Forbes' most valuable teams list

The Dallas Cowboys maintained their position as the world’s most valuable sports team, according to Forbes’ annual rankings released Thursday, with National Football League franchises dominating the list.

The Cowboys, who overtook Spanish soccer giant Real Madrid for the top spot in 2016, were valued at $13 billion, marking a 29% increase from last year, Forbes said.

Rounding out the top five were the NBA’s Golden State Warriors at $11 billion, the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams at $10.5 billion, the NFL’s New York Giants at $10.1 billion, and the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers at $10 billion.

Forbes reported that 30 of the NFL’s 32 teams made the top-50 list, underscoring the league’s financial strength. The ranking also included 12 NBA teams, along with two teams each from Major League Baseball, Formula One, Spain’s LaLiga, and England’s Premier League.

The number of soccer clubs on the list declined to four—Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Liverpool—down from seven in each of the previous two years. England’s Manchester City, Germany’s Bayern Munich, and France’s Paris Saint-Germain fell off the ranking.

In Major League Baseball, the New York Yankees led the way with a valuation of $8.2 billion, placing them in a tie for 10th overall. Real Madrid, valued at $6.75 billion, remained the most valuable soccer club and ranked 20th. Ferrari, at $6.5 billion, was the highest-ranked Formula One team, tied for 26th place.

Overall, Forbes said the top 50 sports teams are worth more than $353 billion, averaging $7.1 billion per team. That figure represents a 22% increase from 2024 and is more than double the combined value from four years ago. -Reporting by Frank Pingue in TorontoEditing by Toby Davis/Reuters