FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- One of the often-debated topics on sports radio when it comes to the New England Patriots is their spending.

Some argue that the Patriots should spend more. Others focus more on the concept that it's not simply spending money as much as how that money is spent.

The website NerdWallet.com, which touts itself as "focused on helping people lead better lives through financial education and empowerment," tackles this topic in a post about the most cost-efficient professional sports teams.

The Patriots rank No. 1.

The rankings of baseball, basketball and football teams were tabulated by analyzing win-loss records and payroll data since 2000 and comparing roster spending vs. team performance.

NerdWallet computes that the Patriots are "more than twice as efficient as the average team."

As for the other Boston-based teams in the study, the Celtics were No. 33 (a great number in team history), and the Red Sox check in at No. 67.