The Dallas Cowboys are the most profitable sports team in the world, a new study has found.
Forbes has studied data from across major sports and the major leagues, before ranking the 20 teams who make the most money.
The NFL dominates the top of the standings, with nine football teams within the top 20, compared to just five NBA franchises, three NHL teams and three from the Premier League.
The New York Mets, meanwhile, find themselves at the other end of the money standings. They were ranked as the world’s most unprofitable team with estimated operating losses of $292million.
The Cowboys are head and shoulders above everyone else, despite enduring a miserable season on the field which saw Mike McCarthy’s team miss out on the NFL playoffs.
Dallas was already the world’s most valuable team, worth of $10.1billion. Now Forbes have found that Jerry Jones’ franchise made $564m profit in 2023 – nearly double their nearest rivals.
The Dallas Cowboys are the most profitable sports team in the world, a study has found
The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots sit second and third in the table, respectively
No one comes close to the Cowboys in terms of ‘local revenue’, with Dallas generating nearly $800m from ticket sales, merchandise, concessions and more. No other NFL team makes more than $400m.
The Los Angeles Rams ($286m) came second in the overall standings, with the Patriots ($261m) third – even though New England has struggled on the field in recent seasons.
The Edmonton Oilers are the most profitable NHL team ($213m) in the standings, one spot ahead of LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers ($199m).
They are the highest-ranked NBA team, above the New York Giants ($190m) and Manchester United ($187m) – the most profitable soccer team on the list.
United’s Premier League rivals Tottenham (10th, $161m) and Manchester City (15th, $148m) both make the list.
Together the top 20 teams are estimated to have generated almost $4bn in profit ‘during the most recent season with available data’, Forbes say. That works out at an average of £195m.
In total, Forbes valued 174 sports team in 2024, with 141 operating in the black, five breaking even and 28 in the red. Among those, 15 came from Major League Soccer.
