Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox Headline Sportico's MLB Franchise Valuations for 2026 Season

The New York Yankees remain the most valuable MLB franchise, but the gap between them and the Los Angeles Dodgers is closing.

In a ranking of all 30 MLB franchises one week away from the start of the 2026 regular season by Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen, the Yankees top the list with a valuation of $9.4 billion.

The Dodgers are a close second at $9.05 billion, with the Boston Red Sox a distant third at $6.65 billion.

Here is the top 10 on Sportico's list:

1. New York Yankees: $9.4 billion
2. Los Angeles Dodgers: $9.05 billion
3. Boston Red Sox: $6.65 billion
4. Chicago Cubs: $6.48 billion
5. San Francisco Giants: $4.36 billion
6. Atlanta Braves: $4.11 billion
7. Philadelphia Phillies: $3.75 billion
8. Houston Astros: $3.65 billion
9. New York Mets: $3.58 billion
10. San Diego Padres: $3.1 billion

Badenhausen noted this is the sixth consecutive year the Yankees have been atop the list, but the Dodgers have had an incredible ascent during that same period.

The Dodgers' value in 2021 was at $4.62 billion, more than $2 billion behind the Yankees. They were also behind the Red Sox ($4.8 billion) for second place.

Wednesday's reveal shows the Dodgers have nearly doubled in value since that time. It's not a surprise considering how dominant they have been on the field, but especially the value that Shohei Ohtani on his own has brought to the franchise.

To highlight how important Ohtani has been to the Dodgers, they were ranked as the 17th-most valuable franchise in all of sports in February 2024. The list came out two months after Ohtani signed his 10-year, $700 million contract with the club as a free agent.

Now, their current $9.05 billion valuation would have them ranked among the top-five NFL and NBA franchises. The Dodgers became the first MLB ever team to hit $1 billion in revenue, doing so during the 2025 season en route to winning their second straight World Series.

In terms of year-over-year increase, though, the Dodgers are only ninth among all MLB teams. The team that had the biggest franchise value increase were their NL West rivals, the San Diego Padres.

Badenhausen cited the Padres' high 2025 home attendance (3.4 million, second in MLB to the Dodgers), and being the only pro team from the four major North American leagues based in San Diego.

The Padres are currently up for sale with final bids reportedly expected to come in April and a potential sale price around $3 billion. That price tag would set a new record for an MLB franchise, surpassing the $2.4 billion Steve Cohen paid for the New York Mets in 2020.

On the opposite end of the Yankees-Dodgers spectrum are the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates. They are the two least-valuable franchises in MLB, though still very lucrative with a valuation of $1.58 billion for the Pirates and $1.45 billion for the Marlins.

The average MLB franchise value going into the 2026 season is $3.17 billion, which Badenhausen noted marks a 12 percent increase from last year.