THE DALLAS COWBOYS have dethroned Real Madrid as the most valuable sports team in the world according to a Forbes survey of the richest teams in the National Football League.
The Cowboys, often described as “America’s Team” despite not having won the Super Bowl since 1995, topped the Forbes list with a value of $4 billion (3.5 billion euros), fueled in part by the NFL’s gargantuan domestic television deal.
The valuation puts them ahead of Real Madrid, who were valued by Forbes at $3.26 billion according to a global list released earlier this year.
Two other US sports franchises, the NFL’s New England Patriots and baseball’s New York Yankees, were next with an estimated value of $3.2 billion.
Reigning European champions Barcelona came in at fifth with an estimated value of $3.16 billion.
Premier League giants Manchester United were valued at $3.1 billion according to most recent Forbes estimates.
Forbes said the Cowboys have surged to the top thanks to revenues of $620 million, some $100 million more than its nearest high-earners in the NFL.
The third most valuable NFL team according to Forbes are the Washington Redskins at $2.85 billion with the New York Giants next at $2.8 billion.
The San Francisco 49ers came in at $2.7 billion, up nearly 70 percent in value since their last appearance on the list.
The spike was attributed to the team’s move to their new state-of-the-art stadium at Santa Clara.
