Record Breaking Year For Sports Deals Sends Values Soaring For These Teams

If there is a lesson to be learned from the Ishbia brothers agreeing to buy the Phoenix Suns for $4 billion recently or Rob Walton and his syndicate plunking down $4.65 billion for the Denver Broncos in June, it’s that sports teams are worth as much as a billionaire, or two, is willing to pay. Each offer blew past previous records for franchise sale prices in their respective leagues, indicative of the strong business in the NBA and the NFL as well as increased competition among the ultra-rich to join the exclusive ranks of sports ownership, which in turn sent prices ever higher.

Just two months ago, Forbes valued the Suns at $2.7 billion, which already represented a 50% increase from 2021, the biggest gain in the NBA even before the sale. A $4 billion valuation would mean the Suns have appreciated more than 135% since Forbes’ estimate in October 2021. Assuming the deal goes through, it would deliver the Suns the largest single-year increase of any sports team in the world in 2022.

It is not, however, the only team to see huge gains in the past year. Among major sports leagues in which Forbes tracks valuations annually, 11 teams increased in value by more than 40% in 2022.

The most dramatic swings have taken place in European soccer, where top teams can just as quickly fall into financial ruin as rise to new heights. Italian club AC Milan had negative equity of $37 million in 2018 when Elliott Management took over, but after it injected hundreds of millions of capital into the club to help it return both to the Champions League and to the top of Serie A last season, Forbes valued the Rossoneri at $1.2 billion in May, up an impressive 115%.

In the NFL, there were no losers. Franchises increased in value by 28% on average across the league, with four eclipsing the 40% mark. The Buffalo Bills, who are about to move into a new $1.4 billion stadium funded by public money, are the league’s biggest movers at 50%, yet still rank No. 29 in the league in value.

NHL teams were valued over $1 billion on average for the first time this year, thanks to a league-wide average in franchise appreciation of 19%. Teams that sold a piece of their ownership, like the Tampa Bay Lightning, or are prepping for a potential sale, like the Ottawa Senators, saw increases in value over 50%, further examples of the premium paid to acquire sports ownership stakes.

Even Major League Baseball clubs, which appreciated by an average of just 9%, saw the biggest such increase in four years. Marquee franchises like the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers capitalized on new jersey patch sponsorships and regional sports network revenue at a disproportionate level, and are reaping the rewards.

Although high sale prices don’t automatically raise the fortunes of all owners in a given league, they can certainly have an effect. One significant shareholder in MSG Sports told Forbes in September that if Suns owner Robert Sarver were to succeed in securing his $4 billion asking price, it would imply the value of the Knicks would rise to more than $6 billion, at least $200 million above Forbes’ 2021 valuation. (The following month, Forbes valued the Knicks at $6.1 billion.) And with a handful of prominent teams potentially up for sale in the coming year—including the Washington Commanders, the Ottawa Senators, Manchester United and Liverpool FC—it’s safe to assume a healthy increase in sports team values again in 2023.

1. AC Milan

One-Year Change: 115%

Value: $1.2 billion

Owner: Elliott Management

Operating Loss: $16 million

2. Leicester City

One-Year Change: 103%

Value: $925 million

Owner: Khun Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha

Operating Income: $16 million

3. West Ham United

One-Year Change: 77%

Value: $900 million

Owner: David Sullivan, David Gold

Operating Income: $42 million