The value of all NBA teams has been growing like crazy, over the last five years and for the first time ever, every NBA team is now worth at least $1 billion.
According to Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes:
“The average team is worth a record $1.65 billion, 22% more than last year, and every team is worth at least $1 billion for the first time. Franchise values have tripled over the past five years. Credit the league’s economics, in particular its international growth prospects, which are the best of any major U.S. sports league.”
The biggest reason for the growth over the last five years has been because of the popularity of the NBA not just in the United States, but all over the world.
In 2015 the NBA signed a five-year deal with Tencent to carry games in China. That deal is expected to bring in over $800 million. It has been so popular that the NBA is already working on an extension to extend the deal beyond the 2020 season.
The NBA also has a $24 billion dollar deal with TNT and ESPN in the United States. They have also started to incorporate advertisements on the jerseys, and the going rate for that is an average of $9 million per year. All these types of deals are just putting more and more money in each of the owners' pockets.
James Dolan and the New York Knicks are still the most valuable franchise coming in at $3.6 billion dollars. The least valuable franchise is the New Orleans Pelicans who come in at an even $1 billion dollars.
