According to Forbes, the New York Yankees are a mere $400 million away from topping the list of most valuable sports franchises in the world.
They say you have to spend money to make money. When that aphorism is applied to the New York Yankees, though, it’s only sort of true.
Forbes dropped its list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world on Tuesday, via SportsMoney writer Kurt Badenhausen. The Dallas Cowboys placed first with a price tag of $5 billion; the Bombers came in second at $4.6 billion.
Per Forbes, Hal Steinbrenner’s cash cow experienced 15 percent year-over-year growth. New York occupied fifth place on the 2018 list, with a valuation of $4 billion and three soccer clubs in between them and the first-place Cowboys.
That rapid growth is also good for second on the list, behind only 32nd-place Chelsea Football Club’s 25 percent jump.
Badenhausen fingered a 10 percent increase in attendance in 2018 as one reason for the Yankees’ quick ascension. Another similar bump could come in next year’s list, considering New York’s re-acquisition of YES Network in March.
The team is by far the most valuable franchise in the MLB, with a solid $1.3 billion lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers. This despite the team finagling its payroll well below the luxury tax threshold by the end of the 2018 season.
The Bronx Bombers finished up 2018 with just the sixth-highest payroll in the game at just over $192 million. The Boston Red Sox were first, paying their players nearly $240 million; however, they only made it to 12th place on the Forbes list.
So, what does all this mean for the fans? Well, next time you’re sitting in an overpriced Yankee Stadium seat, sipping on egregiously marked up beer, remember that you’re playing part in making the Bombers even more valuable.
Oh, and you’re helping purchase Hal Steinbrenner’s next extravagant mansion.
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