New York Knicks have been named as NBA’s most valuable franchise with an evaluation of $5 billion, says Forbes. The globally renowned magazine recently posted its annual list and stated that the franchise’s value increased by 8.7% as compared to last year’s valuation. According to Forbes’ calculations, an average team profits have been measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
The Knicks have won only two NBA titles in franchise’s 75-season old history. However, they have topped Forbes’ annual list for the sixth straight year and a huge chunk of its attribution has to go to the lucrative local television deal and knicks’ arena.
In 2017, the Knicks generated more than $100 million from the local media deals. The franchise arena also plays a huge part in the franchise’s financial success. They play at the Madison Square Garden, which is the country’s richest sports destination. In addition to the lavish arena, they sold the naming rights without giving up the name to JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Forbes further stated that the Golden State Warriors have moved up to the second spot with the total evaluation of $4.7 billion, while the Los Angeles Lakers are placed in the third position with a value of $4.6 billion. The Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics finished fourth and fifth in the list, respectively. The magazine also said that an average of NBA’s all franchises saw 4% increase worth $2.2 billion in the last 12 months.
The NBA franchises did not play 20% of its scheduled due to the outbreak of coronavirus and then missed out on the revenues generated by the respective arena during the playoffs. The impact of coronavirus is likely to be more evident in the next fiscal year. The current campaign is not being played in full house, so the game day revenue is likely to take a big hit.