New York Knicks News: Team Ranked 2nd In Forbes Estimated Franchise Worth
New York Knicks News: Team Nears Top Of Forbes Franchise Worth List Yet Again
Forbes has released their annual franchise values of the NBA, and as little surprise to anyone, the New York Knicks are ranked near the top. The Knicks come in second this season at an estimated $2.5 billion, trailing only the Los Angeles Lakers, who gained the top spot with $2.6 billion estimated worth. A third team, the Chicago Bulls, reached the $2 billion plateau, as the trio is the only ones to reach that mark.
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Last year that trio was the only teams to be worth more than $1 billion, but the NBA saw a 72 percent average increase for this year, the biggest increase since 1998, when Forbes began making these lists. A big reason for the increase was the $2 billion purchase of the Los Angeles Clippers by Steve Ballmer, who is better known to most people as the former chief executive officer for Microsoft.
That amount of money being paid for the Clippers increased the number of teams valued at $1 billion or more from the three mentioned above to a total of 11. The Boston Celtics are fourth, estimated at $1.7 billion and the Clippers are fifth. Even though Ballmer paid $2 billion for the franchise, Forbes estimates them at being worth $1.6 billion. So according to Forbes, that’s $400 million down the drain for Ballmer. It would be hard to imagine he cares that much, as he has a great time at games, evidence from this video.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBJU0v3CuD4]
The remainder of the top-10 goes the Brooklyn Nets at sixth with $1.5 billion, the Golden State Warriors seventh at $1.3 billion, Houston Rockets eighth at $1.25 billion, Miami Heat ninth at $1.175 billion and the Dallas Mavericks at $1.15 billion. The Mavericks finally broke the $1 billion plateau that owner Mark Cuban has claimed the team has been at previously, as he said the $765 million the team was valued at last season was “way too low.” The final team to break the $1 billion mark was the San Antonio Spurs.
All of the teams in the top-10 saw at least 50 percent increases from last season, with the Clippers seeing the biggest one at 178 percent, and the Bulls also coming in at a clean 100 percent increase. The Nets, Celtics and Lakers all saw increases of at least 92 percent as well.
Speaking of the Nets, they are on the market and could demand a pretty penny. Even though they are an under achieving, luxury taxed team, the Nets should still fetch a hefty payment, more in part because of the arena they call home. The Barclay’s Center was the busiest arena in 2013 and for the first half of 2014, which would be an enticing entity to own along with the Nets. Keep in mind, Barclay’s Center will also be receiving another 41 games worth of revenue, as the New York Islanders will be calling Barclay’s home starting next season.
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With how much other teams have been sold for, including the Milwaukee Bucks who sold for five-times their revenue even though they have a poor arena situation, the Nets will easily be sold for around the $1.5 billion they are valued at. That number could even potentially rise, as they lost an NBA record $99 million last season, much in part because of an NBA record $91 million luxury tax bill, yet still were valued by Forbes as the sixth most valuable franchise.