NBA Franchise Values

Great reading material on Forbes.com regarding the value of NBA franchises. Each year Forbes ranks the value of all 30 NBA teams. Of note this year, the Hornets are worth slightly more than the Sonics. The Knicks rank first at $608 million and the Portland Trail Blazers rank last at $253 million. You can view the entire list here.

According to Forbes, the Hornets franchise ranks 27th in value at $272 million, a 10 percent increase from last year when the value was $248 million.  The jump is tied for seventh with the Blazers and Phoenix Suns for highest one-year percentage increase.

Forbes lists the Sonics’ worth at $269 million, only $100,000 more than it was valued at last season. The Sonics are one of only two teams (the Minnesota Timberwolves being the other) to have zero value change over the past year.

A couple of things can change the value of the franchise, improved play, new television contracts or new arenas are a few of the ways. For example, the Orlando Magic have a 14 percent increase in value from last season because of their new arena deal. The Golden State Warriors rose 16 percent because of improved play. The Cleveland Cavaliers signed a new $25 million television contract with FSN Ohio, more than double the previous contract, and saw a 20 percent increase (although the Finals appearance and LeBron James helped as well).

A few other things Forbes used to calculate franchise value: revenue shared among all teams, host city and market size, arena and arena deal, management of the team’s brand and revenues and operating income for the 2006-07 season.

 -DM-