Cowboys top Forbes' list of most valuable sports teams

The Dallas Cowboys apparently aren't only "America's Team," they seem to be the world's.

Forbes released its annual list of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams on Wednesday. The Cowboys lead the way for a third consecutive year, this time with a valuation of $4.8 billion. That number is up 14 percent from $4.2 billion in 2017.

The Cowboys also boast the highest revenue and earnings of any franchise at $840 million and $350 million, respectively.

Soccer clubs Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Barcelona follow, while MLB's New York Yankees round out the top five.

The New England Patriots are the next-highest football team, ranking sixth at $3.7 billion. The New York Giants are tied for eighth with the Los Angeles Lakers at $3.3 billion, and the Washington Redskins complete the top 10 in a tie alongside the Golden State Warriors with a $3.1-billion valuation.

In total, 29 of 32 NFL teams made the top 50. Only the Cincinnati Bengals ($1.8 billion), Detroit Lions ($1.7 billion), and Buffalo Bills ($1.6 billion) failed to crack the list.

"The franchise values are based on Forbes' valuations done over the past year for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, Formula One, soccer and Nascar (no NHL, F1 or Nascar teams made the top 50). Forbes’ team values reflect enterprise values (equity plus debt) based on current venue deals unless a new venue is pending," Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen notes.