Winning championships and new stadiums have fueled the biggest increases in team values duirng the past half decade. Titles equate to more prize money, higher ticket prices and richer sponsorship deals. Modern stadiums allow owners to rake in more cash from glitzy suites and restaurants and events like Taylor Swift concerts and UFC bouts.

Among the 27 teams that have doubled or more in value over the past five years, 13 (Atlanta FC, NYCFC, LAFC, AC Milan, PSG, Liverpool, Manchester City, Los Angeles Rams, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, Tampa Bay Lightining, Colorado Avalanche) have captured at least one league championsip and nine teams (DC United, NYCFC, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, Golden State Warriors, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Islanders, Tottenham Hotspur) have moved into, or are getting, new stadiums.

In aggretate, these 27 teams have seen their values increase by an average of 146%. In contrast, the 133 teams that we have valued since 2018 are up an average of 74%. Because the publication of our valuations for each sport are published at different times (soccer and MLB were in 2023, while the NBA, NFL and NHL were in 2022) during the year, precise comparisons to the stock market are not possible. But for a rough contrast, the S&P 500 is up 55% for the five-year peirod through today.

Two billionaires make the biggest splash on our top 27—Stan Kroenke and Josh Harris. The former, who financed $5 billion SoFi Stadium, has won a championship with the Rams (2021) and Avalanche (2022) during the past five years, both of which are on our top 27 list, and one with the Denver Nuggets, who are not on our list but sure to profit from the NBA title they won earlier this week. Harris, meanwhile, has not yet won a title, but is on the verge of buying the Washington Commanders and is looking to build a new arena for the Philadelphia 76ers. Both Kroenke and Harris operate among the most valuable sports empires in the world.