12. Cleveland Cavaliers – $1.1 billion
When LeBron James came to Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, he did not just bring his skills to help the team win. He also brought the money train along with him, especially sponsors, tickets revenue, and market’s interest.
Among the team’s $1.1 billion valuation, most of them comes from the market ($429 million). And without even raising the tickets’ price, the revenue was boosted up to 40% from pre-LeBron era.
The total revenue the team earned last season was $191 million. On top of that, there was also $24.8 million of operating income. After its success last season, those numbers will only get higher if the achievements can be maintained.
Dan Gilbert bought the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005. He only paid $375 million for this billion-dollar team.
