They're No. 1: The Dallas Cowboys are the most profitable team in the world for the second year in a row.
Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesPrivate equity may soon be investing investing in the NFL as it already is doing with MLB, NBA, NHL and soccer. One reason Wall Street can’t wait to sink its teeth into football is the league’s unrivaled profitability.
Among the 25 most profitable sports teams in the world—as measured by aggregate operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) during the most recent three years for which Forbes has compiled figures, 13 are in the NFL. The English Premier League has five teams on the list, there are six NBA teams and one Bundesliga soccer team.
The more profitable teams are those that run their stadiums in big markets. Consider this: the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots have combined operating income of $1.83 billion during the past three seasons through 2022 versus $1.76 billion in total for MLB for the three-year period ending 2023.
The World’s Most Profitable Sports Teams 2024
These are the teams that have generated the most operting income over the past three years.
ForbesThe average operating income for the 25 most profitable teams is $378 million, 7.7% more than last year. Two newcomers to this year’s list—the Atlanta Falcons and Arsenal—made it via opposite routes: the NFL team by reducing player expenses by nearly $100 million from 2019, the EPL side via boosting revenue $130 million the past three years due, in part, to improved performance on the pitch and earning $30 million from reaching the final 16 of the 2022-23 Europa League.
The NFL may soon have more competition for this list. The NBA is very close to signing a new national media deal that could reportedly triple in value. The NBA salary cap would give players half of that increase. The question for basketball teams in terms of profits would be how much of a tax would they be willing to pay. The Golden State Warriors, for example, were among the top 25 in profits on last year’s list but didn’t qualify this year because of their huge luxury tax payments.
