Dallas Cowboys named most valuable franchise; Bears top locals at 16th

By Sun-Times staff

Fans watch at Soldier Field during the first half of an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2016, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

The Dallas Cowboys are worth $4.2 billion, making them the most valuable sports franchise for the second consecutive year, according to Forbes.

As for Chicago sports franchises, the Bears rank highest at No. 16 ($2.7 billion). They were two spots ahead of the Cubs ($2.68 billion), whose value increased 22 percent from last year. The Bulls came in at No. 22 on the list with a value of $2.5 billion.

The White Sox and Blackhawks didn’t crack the top 50. Hockey did not fare well overall — no NHL team made the list.

In its annual rankings, Forbes had the New York Yankees second — up from fourth a year ago — with a value of $3.7 billion.

Next are three soccer teams: Manchester United ($3.69 billion), Barcelona ($3.64 billion) and Real Madrid ($3.58 billion).

The rest of the top 10 features the New England Patriots ($3.4 billion), New York Knicks ($3.3 billion), New York Giants ($3.1 billion), San Francisco 49ers ($3 billion) and Los Angeles Lakers ($3 billion).

The rankings are based on Forbes’ valuations done over the last year for all NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, soccer, NASCAR and Formula One teams.

The average current value of the top most valuable teams is $2.5 billion, the highest to date, an increase over last year, when the average value was $2.2 billion.