Richest Sports Franchises

[Calis]

Some interesting stuff I just ran across browsing Fox Sports World to see what they had lined up to show this coming week.

Manchester United is not surprisingly #1, but a couple things that really surprised me where the Redskins being #2 here. I guess I didn't realize they were that popular merchandise-wise. Even more shocking is the fact the Browns are the 9th richest franchise in the States. Didn't see that one coming.

Gotta love the fact that Leeds is #16 on the list, that's impressive all things considered. :)

LONDON (AP)— List of the world's richest soccer clubs and U.S. sports franchises based on revenues for 2002-2003, compiled by sports business group Deloitte & Touche. Dollar rate based on ?1.15 at June 30, 2003:

1 - Manchester United - ?251.4 million (US$289 million)

2 - Juventus - ?218.3 million (US$251 million)

3 - AC Milan - ?200.2 million (US$230.2 million)

4 - Real Madrid - ?192.6 million (US$221.5 million)

5 - Bayern Munich - ?162.7 million (US$187.1 million)

6 - Inter Milan - ?162.4 million (US$186.8 million)

7 - Arsenal - ?149.6 million (US$172 million)

8 - Liverpool - ?149.4 million (US$171.8 million)

9 - Newcastle United - ?138.9 million (US$159.7 million)

10 - Chelsea - ?133.8 million (US$153.9 million)

11 - AS Roma - ?132.4 million (US$152.3 million)

12 - Borussia Dortmund - ?124 million (US$142.6 million)

13 - Barcelona - ?123.4 million (US$141.9 million)

14 - Schalke 04 - ?118.6 million (US$136.4 million)

15 - Tottenham - ?95.6 million (US$109.9 million)

16 - Leeds United - ?92 million (US$105.8 million)

17 - Lazio - ?88.9 million (US$102.2 million)

18 - Glasgow Celtic - ?87 million (US$187 million)

19 - Lyon - ?84.3 million (US$96.9 million)

20 - Valencia - ?80.5 million (US$92.6 million)

U.S.

1 - New York Yankees - ?243.8 million (US$280.4 million)

2 - Washington Redskins - ?197.7 million (US$227.3 million)

3 - Boston Red Sox - ?184.6 million (US$212.3 million)

4 - Seattle Mariners - ?181.4 million (US$208.6 million)

5 - Dallas Cowboys - ?172.4 million (US$198.3 million)

tied 6 - San Francisco Giants - ?168.1 million (US$193.3 million)

tied 6 - Houston Texans - ?168.1 million (US$193.3 million)

8 - New England Patriots - ?164.6 million (US$189.3 million)

9 - Cleveland Browns - ?151.5 million (US$174.2 million)

10 - New York Mets - ?150.6 million (US173.2 million)


hxxp://www.foxsportsworld.com/content/view?contentId=2196054

[Barkeep49]

For those of us less informed about soccer why is it surprising Leeds is 16?

[Ryan S]

For those of us less informed about soccer why is it surprising Leeds is 16?
Leeds are over $150 million in debt

[rkmsuf]

The Red Sox are 7th in the world and are nickel and diming Nomar? Bad John Henry, bad John Henry...

[Calis]

For those of us less informed about soccer why is it surprising Leeds is 16?

More or less just ironic, because Leeds has basically broken the record for the biggest debt in soccer over there. I can't remember how far down they've got, but it ain't pretty. They've been treading water the past two years or so.

EDIT: Oops, Ryan S beat me to it. I'll just back him up on it. ;)

[SunDancer]

The suprising teams prolly have new stadiums, which push up values. Isn't Manchester worth about $1 Billion (US)? The values seem low. If I remember correctly, didn't Murdock offer that much for them a few years back?

[cthomer5000]

The suprising teams prolly have new stadiums, which push up values. Isn't Manchester worth about $1 Billion (US)? The values seem low. If I remember correctly, didn't Murdock offer that much for them a few years back?
Those aren't the values listed, those are the profits from last year.

[Ksyrup]

It's not surprising, since this is based solely on revenues, which is only one side of the ledger. Now, if they tried to sell the team, the asking price would be heavily influenced by the debt.

[cthomer5000]

So why are stadiums publicly funded again?

[rkmsuf]

So why are stadiums publicly funded again?

Exactly...

[mckerney]

So why are stadiums publicly funded again?

Because teams will be able to find some city/state willing to pay for it.

[cthomer5000]

Because teams will be able to find some city/state willing to pay for it.
There really should be laws against this shit.

[rkmsuf]

What are the odds that Big Stein asks for public funds for a new Yankee ballpark on the West side?

[GrantDawg]

What are the odds that Big Stein asks for public funds for a new Yankee ballpark on the West side?
That is a given.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Where is Notre Dame?

[cody8200]

South Bend, IN ;)

[judicial clerk]

I am suprised that Pro Football teams that only play a 16 game season would make this list.

[ISiddiqui]

Yeah, but what about their TV deal and merchandise?

[judicial clerk]

The TV deal must be very sweet for the NFL to beat out other leagues who play five ad ten times as many regular season games.

[sooner333]

The Giants have a large revenue, but also a large debt on their privately financed ballpark. Much of the revenue goes to that...that is how the numbers can be decieving.