The most expensive franchises are in the National Football League
American journalists have calculated the cost of franchises of 152 clubs in five major sports leagues in North America. The range is huge, from $9.2 billion for the most expensive team, the Dallas Cowboys, who play in the NFL, to $390 million for MLS club Montreal. At the same time, 103 clubs are valued at a billion dollars or more, and only nine are worth less than $500 million. Traditionally, the most expensive franchises are in the National Football League. Let’s talk in more detail.
In the top ten – no NHL
If we talk about the top 10 most expensive clubs in America, then it was expected that there were no representatives of football (MLS) and, somewhat unexpectedly, hockey (NHL). The top ten includes six from the National Football League, three from the National Basketball Association, and one from Major League Baseball.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) | League |
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys | 9.2 | NFL |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 7.56 | NBA |
| 3 | New York Yankees | 7.13 | MLB |
| 4 | New York Giants | 7.04 | NFL |
| 5 | Los Angeles Rams | 6.94 | NFL |
| 6 | New England Petriots | 6.7 | NFL |
| 7 | New York Knicks | 6.58 | NBA |
| 8 | Los Angeles Lakers | 6.44 | NBA |
| 9 | San Francisco 49ers | 6.15 | NFL |
| 10 | New York Jets | 6.11 | NFL |
National Football league: top ten at 66 billion
The NFL is the richest league in the world. The cost of ten of its most expensive clubs is nearly 66 billion dollars. There is not a single club in the top 10 worth less than $5 billion. The league’s cheapest team, the Cincinnati Bengals, is valued at $4 billion. All 32 teams in the League are in the top 40 most valuable franchises in North America.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) |
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys | 9.2 |
| 2 | New York Giants | 7.04 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Rams | 6.94 |
| 4 | New England Petriots | 6.7 |
| 5 | San Francisco 49ers | 6.15 |
| 6 | New York Jets | 6.11 |
| 7 | Washington Commanders | 6.05 |
| 8 | Chicago Beers | 6 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Eagles | 5.95 |
| 10 | Las Vegas Raiders | 5.77 |
NBA: both cost and gap are growing
As mentioned above, the National Basketball Association is the second most valuable club. Three of its representatives are in the top 10 most expensive franchises in America. The top ten most valuable clubs in the League are valued at $46 billion. At the same time, the cheapest club in the NBA, the New Orleans Pelicans, is estimated at $1.63 billion.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) |
| 1 | Golden State Warriors | 7.56 |
| 2 | New York Knicks | 6.58 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Lakers | 6.44 |
| 4 | Chicago Bulls | 4.09 |
| 5 | Boston Celtics | 3.92 |
| 6 | Brooklyn Nets | 3.86 |
| 7 | Los Angeles Clippers | 3.73 |
| 8 | Toronto Raptors | 3.34 |
| 9 | Houston Rockets | 3.3 |
| 10 | Dallas Mavericks | 3.26 |
MLB: no club is cheaper than a billion
The ten most valuable clubs in Major League Baseball have a combined value of just over $39 billion. At the same time, there is not a single franchise in the League whose value is less than a billion. The cheapest MLB club, the Miami Marlins, is valued at $1.07 billion.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) |
| 1 | New York Yankees | 7.13 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 5.24 |
| 3 | Boston Red Sox | 5.21 |
| 4 | Chicago Cubs | 4.69 |
| 5 | San Francisco Giants | 3.81 |
| 6 | New York Mets | 2.82 |
| 7 | Atlanta Breevs | 2.75 |
| 8 | Houston Astros | 2.58 |
| 9 | Philadelphia Phillies | 2.46 |
| 10 | Los Angeles Angels | 2.45 |
NHL: the gap is already critical
The National Hockey League is seriously inferior to the three previous organizations. For example, only two NHL clubs made it into the top 75 most expensive franchises in North America. And the total cost of the ten most expensive clubs in the League is only 15 billion dollars.
At the same time, the cheapest club in the NHL – the Arizona Coyotes – is estimated at only 465 million and ranks 147th in the ranking of the cost of all major league franchises.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) |
| 1 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2.12 |
| 2 | New York Rangers | 2.01 |
| 3 | Montreal Canadiens | 1.7 |
| 4 | Chicago Blackhawks | 1.44 |
| 5 | Boston Bruins | 1.41 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Kings | 1.39 |
| 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | 1.35 |
| 8 | Edmonton Oilers | 1.29 |
| 9 | Washington Capitals | 1.22 |
| 10 | Detroit Red Wings | 1.12 |
MLS: Chasing the NHL
So far, MLS is the poorest league in North America. None of the franchises are worth a billion, and the cheapest team in the league, as we wrote, is estimated at only 390 million. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the rapid progress of the MLS – now FC Los Angeles is ahead of 17 NHL clubs. Well, yes, Inter Miami Krivtsov and Messi so far only closes the top 10 teams of the League.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) |
| 1 | FC Los Angeles | 0.9 |
| 2 | Los Angeles Galaxy | 0.865 |
| 3 | Atlanta United | 0.855 |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders | 0.725 |
| 5 | Toronto | 0.705 |
| 6 | DC United | 0.7 |
| 7 | New York city | 0.69 |
| 8 | Portland Timbres | 0.685 |
| 9 | FC Austin | 0.630 |
| 10 | Inter Miami | 0.585 |
American and European football – a gap of 10 times
If we compare the most expensive teams in the leagues, it is easy to replace that so far there is a tenfold gap between the NFL and MLS. But, looking at the pace of development of football in the United States, it seems that such a distance will not last long.
| Place | Club | Cost (billion dollars) | League |
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys | 9.2 | NFL |
| 2 | Golden State Warriors | 7.56 | NBA |
| 3 | New York Yankees | 7.13 | MLB |
| 4 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2.12 | NH |
| 5 | FC Los Angeles | 0.9 | MLS |
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
