In the midst of a proposed renovation and the beginning of a new season the Chicago Cubs have been ranked number four on Forbes’ list of the most valuable baseball teams.
With a $1 billion dollar price tag, Wrigley’s beloved team trails behind the Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox. However Forbes believes the Cubs, will become richer as the team’s local television deals improve.
At the moment the team has a deal with the regional sports network CSN until 2019. The Cubs received less than $50 million last season from CSN Chicago and WGN, but should receive a much better deal with WGN in 2015, according to Forbes.
The Cubs’ worth is already on the rise after being valued at $773 million last year, almost $30 million more than the average baseball team’s worth this year. The Ricketts Family bought the team for $700 million in 2009.
With an operating income of $32.1 million last year, the Cubs are also the most profitable of all 30 baseball teams, according to the Chicago Tribune. Operating income is based on the team’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The Chicago White Sox were ranked the 11th most valuable team at $692 million.
The Yankees have been the most valuable team for sixteen consecutive years, worth $2.3 billion. The team got a new rights fee agreement of $85 million from Fox buying a stake in YES and saw revenue from two Madonna concerts and a soccer game between Chelsea and Paris Saint-German, as reported by Forbes.
Chicago Baseball
The Yankees are followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers at $1.6 million and Boston at $1.3 billion.
