A sports team worth $3 billion? Who would have thought it back in the 1970's or 80's?Well there is one now. Manchester United is the first sports franchise in the world worth more than $3 billion big ones on the market.
Forbes magazine is reporting that the English team is worth an estimated $3.3 billion dollars and will most likely keep going up.
Forbes reports "Manchester United is owned by the Glazer family, which in August sold 16.7 million shares in the team -- equal to a 10 percent stake -- for $14 each in an initial public offering. With the stock price rising to almost $17, Manchester United’s enterprise value has pushed past $3 billion."
The Dallas Cowboys come in second on the Forbes list at $2.1 billion.
It's not surprising to see some of the world's most popular teams go up in value nowadays. Even with the overall global economy not as strong as it was 20 years ago, modern technology has given fans a chance to watch teams and other sports that they couldn't years back.
With cable and satellite TV, English football (soccer to us American's) can be seen by millions of fans outside the UK, while the same goes for NFL football, NBA and MLB being seen in many different countries outside the U.S.
The television contract deals bring in billions in revenue for the sport, so if a team is successful, it is almost like winning the lottery.
Of course the down side for us fans is the players get huge contacts, ticket prices go up and we have to pay $10 for a beer or $5 for a hot dog, but that's a whole different story!
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