Wether you’re a sports fan or not, you’re most likely aware that some professional sports franchises are worth a bundle.
The revenue streams for these sports franchises are numerous, such as ticket sales, stadium amenities (memorabilia stores, food sales, parking and such), branded merchandise and royalties (namely TV and radio).
Since so many sports franchises have been going on strong for decades, their market value is rocketing to new heights — here’s a short rundown of today’s most valuable pro sports franchises, in the world:
- Manchester United – An American, named Malcom Glazer, bought the famous European soccer team for a whopping 1.45 billion dollars, in 2005.
- Chicago Cubs – They could sell for 1 billion dollars, allegedly to real estate king Sam Zell. Considering the Tribune Co. bought it for 21 million dollars, back in 1981, it’s a -very- good selling price.
- Washington Redskins – In 1999, Dan Snyder (and his 800 million dollars) steped in when ex-owner Jack Kent Cooke died.
- Boston Red Sox – There was a nasty bidding war, back in 2002 and John Henry won it for 700 million dollars, which turned out to be an awesome deal since the baseball club won the World Series two short years after that.
- Cleveland Browns – For a mere 530 million dollars, Al Lerner bought the football club as an « expansion team », in 1998.
None of those pro sports team owners are complaining about their bottom line since those franchises are so profitable.
It always brings a smile to my face when I see so much money being dealt for games where adults are paid to run after balls in front of crowds.
Now, having seen these numbers -and- keeping an eye on things to come, your bet is as good as mine as to which teams will turn out to be the next financial home runs, touchdowns and flying kick goals.
Whoever figures that out could reap billions of dollars along the way.
Tags: pro sports, franchises, baseball, football, soccer, tickets, stadiums, revenues
