Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers Headline Sportico's List of MLB's Most Valuable Teams

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At $7.01 billion, the New York Yankees are once again the most valuable franchise in Major League Baseball in 2022.

As seen in the graph tweeted by Sportico's Michael McCann, the Yanks lead the way, followed by the rival Boston Red Sox at $5.07 billion, while the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants round out the top five:

The same teams occupied the top five spots last year as well, although the Yankees saw their value rise from $6.75 billion in 2021.

In fact, the same 10 teams are represented in the top 10 of Sportico's list this year compared to last, with the only difference being that the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels swapped places. Atlanta went from eighth to seventh.

Of course, the Braves are coming off their first World Series championship since 1995.

As Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen noted, the average MLB franchise is worth $2.31 billion in 2022, although there is a sizable gap between the teams.

The five most valuable MLB teams are worth $25 billion in total, which means they are propping up the average value significantly compared to teams near the bottom of the rankings, such as the Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics, all of whom have a value of $1.34 billion or lower.

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The $2.31 billion average value is a 5 percent increase from last season with jersey advertisement patches and an expanded postseason playing a role, per Badenhausen.

That increase is aided by the fact that only two franchises—the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles—saw their value fall compared to last year. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros had the biggest rise in value since 2021 at 10 percent.

It comes as little surprise that the most profitable and valuable teams all reside in huge markets, including two teams from New York City (Yankees and Mets) and Los Angeles (Dodgers and Angels) inside the top eight.

The Yankees are traditionally at or near the top of such lists on an annual basis, as they are among the most valuable franchises not only in MLB but in all of sports.

For the past three years, the Yankees have finished second only to the NFL's Dallas Cowboys on Forbes' list of the most valuable sports teams in the world, but Badenhausen reported that they are now the most valuable sports franchise in the world for 2022.

Despite their value, the success fans have come to expect has largely eluded them. Although the Yanks have reached the playoffs the past five seasons and haven't had a losing record since 1992, they also haven't won or reached a World Series since 2009.

The Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs and Giants have all won a World Series more recently, as have teams outside the top 10 in valuation, such as the Astros (11th), Washington Nationals (12th) and Royals (28th).

New York could also be in danger of losing superstar outfielder Aaron Judge to free agency during the offseason, as the sides have yet to come to terms on a new deal. But based on the fact that the Yankees are worth over $7 billion, letting him walk for financial reasons would be a tough sell to the fanbase.