Tottenham not on Forbes list of most valuable franchises NFL dominates

Forbes came out with their annual list of the most valuable sports franchises and Tottenham is not on it as only nine football clubs are included in the list. The formula used at Forbes ultimately is one that definitely hammers Tottenham for the major debt from the stadium, as equity plus net debt are the two factors used. What we see in the list is that it is the NFL, where local taxes often pay for new stadiums, that the majority of the most valuable franchises reside.

Tottenham Does Not Make Cut

There were nine total football clubs in the list with more than half the list – five – coming from the Premier League. The two most valuable football clubs were Barcelona and Real Madrid worth 4.76 and 4.75 billion each, ranking fourth and fifth on the list.

Bayern Munich was the only other football club in the top 10, worth an estimated 4.21 billion. Toward the end of the list was the lowest ranking football club, PSG which was 43rd out of 50 with a value of around 2.5 billion. The five Premier League clubs; Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United were all between Bayern and PSG.

Despite the noise being made by their fans, Manchester United is still the most valuable football club in England at 4.2 billion, edging out Liverpool (4.1b) and Manchester City (4b). All three clubs are just outside the top 10 ranking 11, 12, and 13 on the list.

Twelve spots down from City, we find our first London club, with Chelsea in at 3.2 billion in 25th place. Thirteen positions later, Arsenal is the final Premier League club on the list work 2.8 billion in at 38. We do not know where Tottenham is as the list stopped at 50 and the Spurs were not in it.

American Football is Money King

American teams in the Major League Baseball – six – and the National Basketball Association – nine – made up the rest of the list, but it was dominated by teams in the National Football League, American Football. Twenty-six of the places, 52% of the list of the top 50 most valuable franchises were NFL teams.

The most valuable franchise in the world is the Dallas Cowboys worth an estimated 5.7 billion US dollars. Considering Jerry Jones paid $150 million in 1989 for the club, it has been one heck of an investment. As NFL teams go global and still tax local communities to subsidize the costs of stadiums, the rich keep getting richer, something fans are fighting hard to avoid in European football.

What about Tottenham?

Clearly, the debt for the stadium and new facilities established over the last several years is a big drag on the Tottenham bottom line. This is especially true as the stadium sits mostly empty. further, being on the list is not really that significant for us as fans but the partnership between Tottenham and the NFL is.

How that partnership is leveraged for the good of the football club, as opposed to just ENIC, will be a telling factor over the next few years. As that money could help fund continued transfers and improvements or just go to pad someone’s account. As fans, we are all hoping the investments go back into the club as the better the club the more valuable the asset.

Ultimately, only time will tell what the relationship between Tottenham and the NFL will deliver for the club. If nothing else, we do now Levy picked the right sport if Forbes has any say in it.