They may not have won a Super Bowl in 20 years, but the Dallas Cowboys continue to beguile fans with the NFL team named as the world’s most valuable sports team in Forbes’ annual survey.

Forbes values the Cowboys at $4bn, edging the team ahead of La Liga’s Real Madrid ($3.26bn). Spanish and American teams make up the top five – the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and MLB’s New York Yankees are both valued at $3.2bn, while Real Madrid’s fierce rivals Barcelona come in at $3.16bn.



Proving that success on the field isn’t a necessity for financial success, Washington are the third most valuable NFL team ($2.85bn). The highest-valued Premier League team is Manchester United valued at $3.1bn thanks to $703m in annual revenue and a 10-year, $1.1bn sponsorship deal with Adidas.

Forbes attributes the Cowboys valuation to playing in a large market, shrewd marketing and the revenue from its multi-purpose stadium, where crowds for Cowboys games average 90,000.

Off the field at least, the Cowboys have flourished under the ownership of Jerry Jones – he bought the team for $140m in 1989. The average NFL team is now worth $2bn according to Forbes.