$6,390,000,000.00
In an article we linked in yesterday’s mailbag, Forbes Magazine ranks the Yankees as the 6th most valuable sports empires (sports empires, not just baseball) in the entire world.
Forbes states that the Yankees (Yankee Global Enterprises -including Yankees, Legends, YES Network, NYC FC, and the Scranton/Wilkes-Bare RailRiders) are worth a combined $6.39 BILLION dollars.
That’s BILLION with a B.
Let’s just say this, the Yankees are worth a TON of money.
A TON.
From this writer’s perspective, a franchise worth this kind of money should not be worrying about a salary cap, a luxury tax, or any artificial barrier that prevents them from acquiring the best available talent year after year after year. A team this valuable should be spending whatever it takes to put a championship team on the field.
This is especially true (see below) when one compares the Yankees’ net worth to the other baseball most valuable franchises (see below).
$6.39 BILLION DOLLARS!
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For more perspective, it is essential that we compare the Yankees franchise worth to the other top baseball franchises:
#4. Fenway Sports Group – $6.6 Billion (Red Sox, Liverpool, NESN, Roush Fenway Racing, Fenway Sports Management)
#5. Yankee Global Enterprises – $6.39 Billion (Yankees, YES Network, NYCFC [20%])
#15. Guggenheim Baseball Management – $3.39 Billion (L.A. Dodgers, Spectrum SportsNet LA)
#20. Ricketts Family – $2.88 Billion (Chicago Cubs, Marquee Sports Network)
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The Red Sox are the most valuable baseball empire, but the Yankees are right behind them. It’s very close.
What isn’t close is the distance between the Yankees (and the Red Sox) and the next most valuable franchises.
The Yankees clock in at being valued at THREE BILLION more dollars that the Dodgers. Next, the Yankees Empire is worth 3.5 BILLION more dollars than the Cubs. The rest of baseball didn’t even make the list.
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Said another way, the total value of the Dodgers and the Cubs COMBINED do not equal the Yankees.
(Please read that previous sentence again.)
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Please remind me, again, why the Yankees can’t afford to sign the greatest free agents year after year, especially knowing that winning just builds the brand even more.
