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The Chicago Bears are the 16th Most Valuable Sports Team in the World

The Chicago Bears are the 9th most valuable NFL franchise, and the 16th most valuable Sports Team in the entire world. So if you've got a billion and change laying around, you could make the McCaskey family an offer.

By Lester A. Wiltfong Jr.
USA TODAY Sports

Forbes has revealed their list of the 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams in the World, and the Chicago Bears franchise has placed 16th overall.

When talking strictly the NFL, the Bears follow the Dallas Cowboys (5), the New England Patriots (6), the Washington Redskins (8), the New York Giants (9), the Houston Texans (13), the New York Jets (14), and the Philadelphia Eagles (15).

All but two teams in the NFL made the top 50, and the St. Louis Rams and the Jacksonville Jaguars just missed the cut at 51 and 52 respectively.

There have been a lot of jabs taken at the McCaskey family through the years, but they must be doing something right. Here's the skinny from Forbes;

Value: $1.19 billion
Owner: McCaskey Family

The Bears hiked ticket prices an NFL-high 9.2% last season, according to Team Marketing Report. The $111 average price for non-premium seating is the fourth highest in football behind the Jets, Patriots and Giants.

When considering that the Bears simply revamped the nearly 90 year old Soldier Field, instead of starting from scratch and building a new state of the art facility, I'm actually surprised they rank as high as 16th.

Just imagine if the Bears were able to match the Texans and their, "200 luxury suites and 8,900 club seats that generate $47 million annually." Or of they could have a stadium deal like the Giants and Jets, "MetLife is paying more than $425 million over 25 years for naming rights to stadium."

Here are some other highlights from the list.

  • The top three teams are all European soccer clubs.
  • The shareholder-owner Green Bay Packers come in 18th.
  • The Chicago Cubs are 31st. Cub fans are you ready for the Jumbo-Tron?
  • The Chicago Bulls are 47th. The television audience on CSN Chicago dropped 29% waiting on #TheReturn.
  • No Chicago White Sox on the list? That has to chap some South Siders.
  • And where are the Chicago Blackhawks? The only NHL team that is on the list is the Toronto Maple Leafs (31).

What are your thoughts on the list?

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