The New York Yankees have topped Forbes annual MLB franchise valuations once again. Mike Ozanian of Forbes has been conducting his annual MLB franchise value estimates since 1998, and the Yankees (worth $4.6 billion) have been baseball's most valuable team every year.
The average MLB team is worth $1.78 billion, up 8 percent from a year ago. Now, every team is worth at least $1 billion. Here are some more details from Ozanian:
This is our 22nd rendition of MLB valuations, and over that span the average team value has increased at an 11% compound annual rate of growth. Over the same span NBA and NFL team values have increased 13% and 12%, respectively. MLB's central revenue (mainly national television money that is shared equally) was $2.76 billion in 2018, while local revenue (ballpark and local television money) was $7.29 billion. Thus baseball's pecking order is driven by ticket, sponsorship and local cable television deals.
Here are baseball's five most valuable franchises at this point in time, according to Ozanian:
New York Yankees -- $4.6 billionLos Angeles Dodgers -- $3.3 billionBoston Red Sox -- $3.2 billionChicago Cubs -- $3.1 billionSan Francisco Giants -- $3 billionThe two least valuable franchises in baseball right now are both of Florida's MLB clubs; the Tampa Bay Rays ($1.1 billion) and the Miami Marlins ($1 billion).
