Cowboys again top the list of most valuable sports franchises, Yankees make big move to No. 2

More than half of the Top 50 most valuable franchises in the world come from the NFL

Great news for the Yankees/Cowboys/Lakers fan in your life -- all three teams have ranked top ten in the list of most valuable sports franchises in the world. 

Forbes released its annual Top 50 list this week, providing evaluations for the most popular and profitable teams in sports. It should come as little surprise that the Dallas Cowboys top the list with an estimated value of $5 billion  -- a four percent growth since last year.

The New York Yankees, who have climbed three spots with a 15 percent growth since 2018, rank second among all franchises with a $4.6 billion valuation. Not only have the Yankees seen a rising level of success on the field -- they're coming off a 100-win season in 2018 -- but their attendance numbers jumped 10% last year, giving them their highest attendance rate since 2012. Their TV viewership was also 57 percent higher than any other baseball club in 2018. 

Those factors helped the Yanks leapfrog the world's two most valuable soccer clubs -- Barcelona ($4.02 billion), which actually lost $37 million last year, and Real Madrid ($4.24 billion) -- into the number two spot. 

Here's the full top ten:

10. Los Angeles Dodgers/New York Giants: $3.3 billion

9. Golden State Warriors: $3.5 billion

8. Los Angeles Lakers: $3.7 billion

7. New England Patriots: $3.8 billion

6. Manchester United: $3.81 billion

5. New York Knicks: $4 billion

4. Barcelona: $4.02 billion

3. Real Madrid: $4.24 billion

2. New York Yankees: $4.6 billion

1. Dallas Cowboys: $5 billion

Some general takeaways from the list: More than half of the Top 50 is comprised of NFL teams, which is thanks in large part to the massive TV deals that the NFL commands. Each football team raked in more than $260 million last year as a result of TV rights alone, and that should continue moving forward. 

The NBA continues to see rising valuations, with nine squads cracking the top 50 -- including three in the top 10 -- this year. For reference, only two NBA teams (the Lakers and Knicks) cracked the top 50 list just seven years ago. 

Zero NHL teams cracked the top 50, but the New York Rangers came in as the highest-ranking franchise outside of the NBA, NFL, MLB and European soccer at 72nd with a value of $1.55 billion.