Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs Top Forbes' List of Most Valuable MLB Franchises

For the 20th consecutive year, Forbes listed the New York Yankees as Major League Baseball's most valuable franchise.    

According to the list released Tuesday, the Yanks are worth $3.7 billion, which puts them ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers ($2.75 billion), Boston Red Sox ($2.7 billion) and Chicago Cubs ($2.675 billion).

The San Francisco Giants finish out the top five at $2.65 billion.

Per Forbes, the average MLB team is worth $1.54 billion, which represents a 19 percent increase from 2016.

According to ESPN.com's Darren Rovell, George Steinbrenner bought the Yankees for $10 million in 1973.

The Steinbrenner family still owns the Bronx Bombers, and when taking inflation into account, it has received a 6,627 percent return on its investment.

Although the Yankees missed the playoffs in 2016, the Dodgers, Red Sox, Cubs and Giants all qualified for the postseason.

Over the past 10 campaigns, a team ranked in Forbes' top five has won the World Series on seven occasions.   

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