The Dallas Cowboys have retained their status as the world’s most valuable sports team, topping Forbes’ annual list that was published on Thursday and dominated by NFL clubs.
The Cowboys have led the rankings since 2016 when they overtook Spanish football club Real Madrid and were valued at $13bn (£9.7bn) – a 29% increase from last year.
NBA’s Golden State Warriors came second with a valuation of $11bn (£8.2bn), followed by NFL duo Los Angeles Rams ($10.5bn/£7.8bn) and New York Giants ($10.1bn/£7.5bn), while another NBA side, the Los Angeles Lakers ($10bn/£7.5bn), completed the top five.
Only four football clubs – Real, Manchester United, Barcelona and Liverpool – feature in the latest top 50 list as Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain dropped off after featuring in the 2024 edition.
United were valued at $6.6bn (£4.9bn) to sit joint 24th with NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while their Premier League rivals Liverpool dropped from 27th in 2024 to joint 48th with a valuation of $5.4bn (£4bn).
La Liga giants Real ($6.75bn/£5bn) were ranked 20th, while reigning Spanish champions Barcelona ($5.65bn/£4.2bn) were 42nd.
As many as 30 of the 32 NFL teams are among the 50 most valuable outfits, followed by 12 NBA franchises and two teams each from Major League Baseball, Formula One, La Liga and the Premier League.
The New York Yankees ($8.2bn/£6.1bn) are in 10th place as the most valuable MLB franchise, while Ferrari’s F1 team ($6.5bn/£4.9bn) are 26th and Mercedes ($6bn/£4.5bn) 34th.
According to Forbes, the 50 teams are worth more than $353bn (£264bn), which is up 22% from 2024 and more than double from four years ago, with the business magazine attributing the rising numbers to a surge in media rights fees.
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