How much does a basketball team cost

Only hours ahead of Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Nike founder Phil Knight and Dodgers part-owner Alan Smolinisky made an offer to purchase the Trail Blazers. Wojnarowski added that Knight and Smolinisky put more than $2 billion on the table.

Discussions of a potential sale are still ongoing with the Paul Allen Trust that's currently overseeing the franchise, per Wojnarowski. As Bleacher Report's Sean Highkin noted, an ownership change could be complicated because the NBA's Trail Blazers and the NFL's Seahawks are held in the trust rather than owned by an individual.

Jody Allen, sister to the late Paul Allen, is the Chair of Vulcan Inc., which consists of the Trail Blazers and Seahawks, among other assets. As the Trustee of the Paul Allen Trust, "Jody Allen is responsible for preserving and implementing Paul Allen's vision for generations to come. "

While $2 billion seems like a massive number, the value of the Trail Blazers isn't even close to the estimated price tags of the top franchises in the league.

List of NBA team values for 2021-22 season

The Knicks ($5.8 billion), Warriors ($5.6 billion) and Lakers ($5.5 billion) each cleared the $5 billion mark on Forbes' latest list of the most valuable NBA franchises. Every team in the league is worth at least $1.5 billion, per Forbes' estimates.

The most recent sale of a franchise occurred when Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore agreed to a $1.5 billion deal to buy the Timberwolves. They haven't taken full control of the team just yet, though, as their purchase is structured in installments.

List of NBA team owners

It's a great time to own an NBA team. While there were plenty of challenges during the seasons that took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the average value of an NBA franchise has only continued to jump.

How Much Does it Cost to Buy an NBA Team? (Quick Answer)

No matter how you slice it, getting into the world of sports is expensive.

It’s even more expensive if you want to buy a team. Purchasing a sports team is one of the costliest endeavors in the world, especially if you want to get into a major organization like the NBA.

I have played and watched basketball for nearly three decades. My own experience with the sport, as well as my deep knowledge of the NBA, allowed me to properly cover the questions outlined throughout the following article.

In this guide, I’ll go over the costs of buying an NBA team, as well as why such purchases are so expensive. I will look at a range of organizations, study trends over time, and figure why certain franchises are worth so much more than others.

What’s the Average Cost of Business?

While revenues definitely dipped throughout the league in 2020, NBA teams are incredibly profitable. Franchises have always been expensive, and they only get pricier with each passing year. In fact, the three most valuable teams are worth more than a combined $15 billion.

Of course, you wouldn’t have to pay that much to buy an NBA team. Those are the extreme cases. Rather, the average franchise costs roughly $2.4 billion. That’s still an astronomical amount of money, and it shows why only the richest of the rich can get into the owner game.

That average cost of more than $2 billion is also relatively new. The league only passed the mark in 2020, which shows the trend of the league becoming more profitable over time.

In fact, in 2011, 22 of the teams in the NBA were not making a profit. Though they still generated revenue, the cost of operations simply outweighed any generation. However, that has now changed. All teams now make hand over first thanks to the recent rise in popularity.

Can You Just Buy a Team?

While money is undoubtedly one of the biggest barriers to purchasing an NBA team, even if you are a billionaire you simply cannot waltz in and get a franchise. There are many rules and regulations in place to stop that from happening.

As teams are worth so much, most current owners don’t want to part with theirs. In fact, while there were a lot of sales during the early 2010’s when the league wasn’t generating as many profits, only four teams have sold since 2013.

That shows how much of a commodity franchise, especially successful ones like the Warriors, have become over time. Not only that, but the league doesn’t like having too many high-profile owners, which stops moguls or rich celebrities from getting in on the action.

To buy a team you don’t just need to be wealthy, you typically have to be unknown as well.

How Much Did The Franchises Cost?

So, now that you know the average cost of an NBA team, it’s also important to look back at how the market shifted over time. Even at its peak during the 80’s and 90’s, basketball simply didn’t have the viewership as other big leagues. That is why so many teams struggled to make money.

Today is a totally different story. For instance, the Golden State Warriors are the second most valuable team in the league, worth more than $5 billion.

However, they sold for just $450 million in 2010.

Similar stories are true of the two lowest value teams, the Grizzlies, and Pelicans. Despite just selling for $350 million and $338 million in 2012, both franchises are valued at over $1 billion today. That’s an incredible markup that shows no signs of ever slowing down.

The only constant when it comes to team value is that the New York Knicks have always been on top of the pack. They are currently the most valuable team in the league and sold for more than any other team in the 90’s, when they changed hands for $1.1 billion in 1997.

The second-largest sale around that time period was the Denver Nuggets, which sold for $450 million to an independent group in April of 2000. While that’s not a lot by today’s standards, such prices were not heard of during the turn of the century.

Other Questions You Might Have

What is the Most Valuable NBA Team?

No team is currently worth more than the New York Knicks. Valued at $5.42 billion, they sit just ahead of the Lakers and Warriors as one of the only three teams to surpass the $3 billion mark.

Which Team is the Least Valuable?

While still incredibly valuable, the New Orleans Hornets are worth the least out of any NBA franchise. They come in at $1.35 billion, which sits just below the second to last place Memphis Grizzlies ($1.36 billion).

What NBA Team Makes the Most Money?

The two teams that generate the most revenue each and every year are the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks. They each pulled in $474 million and $421 million last season respectively, and always rank at the top.

Final Words

When it comes to buying an NBA team, there’s no shortcut. Even the cheapest ones on today’s market go for billions of dollars.

The league is one of the largest companies on Earth, and the sheer amount of money that goes in and out of it each year simply reinforces that fact.

While the organization has hit its share of hardships and financial low points over the years, the current sports explosion across the world might have forever tipped the scales. The average is the highest it’s ever been, and there’s no telling if it will ever go back down.

The most expensive NBA clubs - 2020. Forbes rating

Despite a series of informational scandals, the NBA remains an attractive business for club owners. The 2019 league will be remembered, among other things, thanks to the deal for the sale of shares in the Brooklyn Nets by Mikhail Prokhorov. The tragic death of league legend Kobe Bryant, a drop in TV ratings, and a quarrel with the Chinese authorities over the support of protests in Hong Kong by the general manager of the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, all these informational reasons do not add optimism to fans. Not to mention the conflict between the owner and the fans of the most expensive NBA team, the New York Knicks, which is why the team's series of failures has been dragging on for the seventh year in a row.

Farewell legend: Kobe Bryant's life on and off the court

However, according to Forbes, the basketball business is at its peak. The capitalization of the NBA franchise continues to grow: over the past year, the total value of the clubs in the league has increased by 14%. On average, an NBA team is valued at $2.12 billion today. For comparison, National Football League clubs have risen in price by 11% over the year, to an average of $2.86 billion, and Major League Baseball by 8%, to $1.78 billion. decade, the cost of NBA teams has increased almost sixfold.

The league's 30 clubs generated a record $8.8 billion in revenue last season, up 10% from a year earlier. In the current season, the figures will also grow. Ticket revenues are expected to increase by 8%. In addition, the opening of the new Golden State Warriors arena in San Francisco and the restoration of existing arenas in Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington DC will contribute to revenue growth.

"The NBA's fundamentals are still strong and the league is now run very efficiently," said Sal Galatioto, president of consulting firm Galatioto Sports Partners. “There were a couple of hiccups, but the matches remain a great spectacle for the fans and basketball remains the most popular sport in the world after football.”

2019 was marked by two major deals. Back in 2018, Alibaba co-founder Joseph Tsai agreed to buy the Brooklyn Nets team for $2.35 billion over three years, but then, in August 2019, he added the Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn to the parameters of the agreement. . The total amount of the transaction reached $3.3 billion. Hornets" to investors Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sandheim. As part of the agreement, the team was valued at $1.5 billion, although in 2010, when Jordan bought control of the club, the amount was only $175 million.

The basketball business is not without factors off the court. With the S&P index up 80% over the past five years, NBA sports teams remain an asset diversification option for those who want to cut back on equities. Prices for clubs are rising following the stock market.

Buying a team can also be a great opportunity for a tax holiday: under US law, owners of such assets have a 15-year tax grace period.

According to Forbes, the New York Knicks are losing ground for the fifth year in a row at the top of the rankings. Their revenue grew 15% in the reporting period and their value rose to $4.6 billion. They are immediately followed by the Los Angeles Lakers with $4.4 billion and the Golden State Warriors with $4.3 billion. These three teams can boast the highest earnings in the NBA. When other North American sports franchises are taken into account, the New York Knicks are only valued by the $5.5 billion National Football League (NFL) Dallas Cowboys. Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors behind another non-basketball club, the $4.6 billion Major League Baseball (GLB) New York Yankees.

Characteristically, sports teams in New York and Los Angeles are transferred to new owners for amounts that are many times their revenue. So, in 2014, Steve Ballmer laid out 14 annual club revenues for the Los Angeles Clippers, and Tsai for the Brooklyn Nets - 11. Tilman Fertitta, when buying the Houston Rockets in 2017, offered the former owner only 7 times more than the team's annual income.

The average basketball team is valued at more than $2 billion for the first time, even though in 2011 no league franchise was worth more than $1 billion.

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Club	Cost, $ million	Growth compared to last year, %
"New York NIX"	4 600	15
Leos-Andigles Leykels Leyers "	4 400	19
"Golden Stayt Warriorz"	4 300	23
"Chicago Bulls"	10 9003 9003 9003	"BOSTENS" BOSTEN "" "0052 3 100	11
“Los Angeles Clippers”	2 600	18
“Brooklyn Nets”	2 500	6	“Khouston Rocks”	8
Dallas Maveriks	2 400	7
“Toronto Raptors”	2 100

000 9000. very lucky. They made good money with a $24 billion contract to broadcast NBA games on TNT and ESPN. The collaboration began in the 2016/2017 season, and profits are evenly distributed among all 30 teams.

Another important incentive was the collective agreement signed in 2011. From 57% to 51%, the share of payroll in the structure of clubs' income decreased, which ensured the growth of profits for all teams. Last season, each club's average operating income increased 15% to $70 million. Half a dozen teams earned at least $100 million, while the Oklahoma City Thunder was the only one to go into the red with a loss of $23 million, all from -for paying a $61 million tax on whopping player fees.

While only two clubs have changed ownership in the past four years, the NBA's audience and the franchise's prospects for foreign markets make team acquisitions an attractive investment in the eyes of potential buyers. However, while the NFL matches remain the most popular sports spectacle in the United States, and any other professional league can only envy such TV ratings. In 2019, 41 of the 50 most watched TV broadcasts came from football matches.

But don't forget that in recent years, watching sports has increasingly gravitated towards streaming services, which means that a younger audience will be the key to the development of the NBA. According to the Nielsen analytical agency, the average age of the NBA viewer is 43 years old, while NFL and GLB games are of interest to older people - 52 and 59 years old, respectively. The popularity of the NBA on streaming platforms has increased by 30% this season.

Lee Burke, CEO of consulting firm LHB Sports, explains: “This season, the NBA's ratings are getting kind of silly. The sampling is carried out on a limited layer of viewers. The NBA is a year-round league with something going on all the time. The following streaming agreements will undergo significant changes due to streaming services. There will be more media companies that want to show NBA games in the US and other countries. ” The current deal with ESPN and TNT, worth $2.7 billion per year, expires in the 2024/2025 season, and Burke predicts a new deal worth twice that amount.

In a recent survey of 2,000 sports business executives, MarketCast was able to identify Americans' favorite sports and rank them by age group. The NFL is more popular with fans aged 35 and over and has a 10:1 lead over the NBA. But the NBA is more often preferred by viewers from 18 to 34 years old (41% vs. 38%), and those who are from 13 to 17 simply adore - in this group, the NBA leads with a figure of 57%, the NFL is far behind with 13%. As for GLB, it scored a modest 4% among teenagers.

The potential in the international market also favorably distinguishes the NBA from competitors who mainly work for the American public. The NBA can be watched in 215 countries, and its players include many athletes from all over the world. Last season, the roster of players included 108 players from 38 countries and territories, with a number of them being named MVP (Giannis Antetokounmpo), Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert), Rookie of the Year (Luka Doncic) and Most Improved Player ( Pascal Siakam).

In addition, China remains an important market for the future of the NBA, especially after a $1.5 billion deal with Tencent last summer. The league is working hard to improve relations with Chinese TV and sponsoring partners, but the situation is constantly changing. Most executives believe that Daryl Morey's position will not interfere with the long-term development of the NBA's business in China.

Income and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are calculated for the 2018/2019 seasonnet of income distribution and arena debt servicing. To calculate the club's value (asset value plus net debt), annual revenue ratios are applied based on the financial terms of each team's current arena agreement. The Forbes valuation is the estimated amount for which the club would be put up for sale. So even though Joseph Tsai paid $3.3 billion for the Brooklyn Nets, we believe the team is worth $2.5 billion because he paid approximately $1 billion for the loss-making arena maintenance business. If the club has a new arena, content distribution deals or sponsorship agreements that take effect at the end of the 2018/2019 season, we assessed their impact on the value of the business. Our profitability and franchise value estimates also include the earnings that team owners make from the arena through non-NBA events.

Translation by Anton Bundin

The NBA takes out the NHL in terms of money, but together the two leagues lose to one Elon Musk

Alexander Ovechkin (in white) attacks Brad Marchand from Boston /Zuma\TASS

Vedomosti. Sports compare two North American leagues in terms of key financial indicators.

Club Value

As of December last year, Forbes reported that the total value of 31 NHL (National Hockey League) clubs is $19.555 billion. .55 billion. The total value of all 30 basketball clubs is $ 71.405 billion. Of the unpleasant things for North American basketball, there is a huge lead gap: 26 clubs together are worth only 2. 4 times more than the main four. But 14 NBA franchises cross the $2 billion mark at once. In the NHL, only five organizations have reached the $1 billion mark.

The most expensive teams in both leagues are registered in New York, which is not surprising: the city has developed the world's largest market for entertainment, including sports. As a result, the hockey Rangers are listed at $1.65 billion, the basketball Knicks at $5.8 billion. The Rangers won the last Stanley Cup more than a quarter of a century ago and have not made the playoffs in the previous three seasons. The Knicks, one of the most hopeless underdogs in the basketball league, are doing even worse: over the past decade, they have participated in three knockout games, including two stumbles in the first round.

But the Knicks' cash run isn't stopped by the dismal results or the coronavirus. For the first pandemic, 2020, the cost of the franchise increased by 9%. The Rangers, by comparison, kept capital despite the epidemiological restrictions, but could not increase it. And in the last pre-pandemic, 2019, they rose only by 6%.

In addition to the Rangers, the top five most valuable clubs in the NHL are Toronto ($1.5 billion), Montreal ($1.34 billion), Chicago ($1.085 billion) and Boston ($1 billion). The Knicks compete with the Golden State Warriors ($5.6 billion), Los Angeles Lakers ($5.5 billion), Chicago Bulls ($3.65 billion), Boston Celtics ($3. 55 billion).

The three poorest NHL franchises are Columbus ($310 million), Florida ($295 million), and Arizona ($285 million). The cheapest NBA organizations rank among the top five most expensive in the NHL: Minnesota Timberwolves ($1.55 billion), New Orleans Pelicans ($1.525 billion), Memphis Grizzlies ($1.5 billion).

Chicago Bulls basketball player surrounded by New York Knicks /Zuma\TASS

Telepravava

Spectator interest determines the difference between the financial situation of basketball and hockey in North America. In 2019NBA TV ratings nearly hit historic bottom with 9. 8 million viewers in Game 4 of the Finals. The NHL at the same time reached a record figure for 25 years, but it was lower: 8.33 million spectators watched the seventh game of the final between St. Louis and Boston. On average, just under 13 million watched all matches of the basketball final, and only 4.33 million watched the hockey final. In 2011, the NHL entered into a 10-year contract with NBC - the company bought the television rights to show matches in the United States for $ 2 billion. In Canada, broadcasts in accordance with the 12-year contract concluded in 2013 are managed by Rogers Communications. Contract price — $4.95 billion.

The NBA, under the current agreement with broadcasters, earns $2.4 billion in just one season. In the near future, the league's leadership must determine new conditions for its partners. Forbes claims that the bosses of the Basketball Association intend to receive a contract for nine years and $75 billion. The Rangers are selling seats in the stands for $58-$289. The Knicks are in the $40-$227 range. But Madison Square Garden, where both teams play, deploys 1,600 more seats for basketball players - in other arenas, ball tamers also have a numerical advantage, which means slightly higher profits.

New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, two of the most expensive teams in the NHL /Zuma\TASS

Players

Both leagues have a tight salary cap, but the NBA has a 1.37 times higher salary cap . A huge increase in the cost of a television contract, if it occurs, would give the Basketball Association the opportunity to increase the amount dramatically - from the current $ 112.4 million to $ 171 million by 2025.

The NHL is also discussing the possibility of increasing the ceiling, but we are talking about much more modest money. Now clubs cannot spend more than $81.5 million on hockey players’ salaries. It is expected that organizations will receive another $1 million from next season.

The highest paid NHL player, Connor McDavid, signed an eight-year contract with Edmonton in the summer of 2017.
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NBA team values: Knicks, Warriors, Lakers lead list of most valuable franchises for 2021-22 season