On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including Sportico‘s list of the top 100 most valuable sports teams in the world.
The Dallas Cowboys top the list at $10.3 billion, followed by the Golden State Warriors ($9.1 billion), New York Knicks ($8.3 billion), Los Angeles Lakers ($8.1 billion) and New York Yankees ($7.9 billion). While there is just one NFL team in the top 5, there are 10 in the next 11 spots on the list. The cutoff for the top 100 is the San Diego Padres at $2 billion.
The hosts talk about their takeaways from the list. The first soccer team is Manchester United at No. 17. There is one NHL team (Maple Leafs), but five F1 teams. Almost all of the teams in the top 15 own their own stadiums, a nod to how sports teams have become platform companies for media and real estate opportunities.
Next they talk about the NFLPA‘s annual anonymous player survey. The union asks athletes on each NFL team to rate the franchise on a number of characteristics, including owners, head coaches, facilities and travel accommodations. They point out some interesting results—like Chiefs owner Clark Hunt ranking 17th in the league in “commitment to building a competitive team,” or Jets owner Woody Johnson being the only owner to be given an F by his players.
Next they discuss the death of longtime Cleveland Guardians owner Larry Dolan. When an owner dies nowadays, there’s often a flood of questions about estate planning and the team’s long-term future. That’s likely less relevant in Cleveland, thanks to an investment made by David Blitzer a few year ago.
They close by talking about the a deepening relationship between Fanatics and the Qatari government.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Google, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
