With all the teams in all the sports all around the globe, how is it that the NFL's Baltimore Ravens are the 18th most valuable in the entire world? A story from SouthBMore.com details a Forbes article on how the ratings were determined. It was interesting to read that of the 17 franchises above the Ravens, nine others were NFL teams and Baltimore was the 12th most valuable sports franchise in the United States.
The story asks the obvious question of how could the 24th biggest city and market in the country be the 18th most valuable sports franchise in the world? The answer is a lot deeper than the statistics might show, as the combination of being so close to Washington D.C., the winning reputation and the great stadium that the Ravens sell out every game for every season.
Further interesting notes included that the Ravens were considered more valuable than every Major League Baseball team other than the obvious New York Yankees. The Yanks finished 3rd overall, just behind soccer's Real Madrid (#2) and the most valuable sports franchise in the entire world, soccer's Manchester United. At a value of $1.09 billion, it looks like Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has made a great return on his initial investment.