Dallas Cowboys top Forbes' most valuable teams list

[July 14, 2016]  (Reuters) - The Dallas Cowboys unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid for top spot on a list of the world's 50 most valuable sports teams, according to a Forbes poll released on Wednesday that was dominated by NFL franchises.

The value of the National Football League's Cowboys rose 25 percent to $4 billion compared to last year, while the value of 10-time European champions Real Madrid rose 12 percent to $3.65 billion over the same period, Forbes said in a statement.

It marks the first time since the list’s inception in 2011 that a non-soccer club has taken the top spot on the list.

"Blockbuster TV contracts are fueling unprecedented increases in sports team values around the globe as the average value of a top 50 franchise has doubled over the past four years," said Forbes senior editor Kurt Badenhausen.

"The NFL is still king on TV with contracts worth nearly $7 billion annually from its media partners."

Soccer's Barcelona ($3.55 billion), Major League Baseball's New York Yankees ($3.4 billion) and Manchester United ($3.32 billion) rounded out the top five.

The NFL had 27 franchises listed in the top-50 followed by European soccer and the National Basketball Association, who each had eight teams on the list, followed by MLB with seven.

The 10 most valuable teams (in billions)

1. Dallas Cowboys - $4.0

2. Real Madrid - $3.65

3. Barcelona - $3.55

4. New York Yankees - 3.4

5. Manchester United - 3.32

 Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State) after being selected by the Dallas Cowboys as the number four overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft at Auditorium Theatre. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

6. New England Patriots - 3.2

7. New York Knicks - 3.0

8. Washington Redskins - $2.85

9. New York Giants - $2.8

10. Los Angeles Lakers - $2.7

10. San Francisco 49ers - $2.7

For the complete list visit (http://Forbes.com/).

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Ken Ferris)

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