04 June 2023 , 21:50
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Tottenham Hotspur are the most profitable club in the Premier League over the past three years.
Spurs have recorded an operating income - earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization - of £333 million ($414m) since 2020, the latest list from Forbes shows. Manchester United trail £7m ($9m) behind with total earnings of £324m ($403m) but are ahead of their cross-city rivals Manchester City who sit on £264m ($329m).
Liverpool are the fourth and final team to feature in the top 25, with an operating profit of £237m ($295m). The quartet all feature within the top 12 (Tottenham 3rd, Man Utd 5th, Man City 10th and Liverpool 12th), and are only separated by NBA and NFL franchises.
The only other football team to feature alongside them are Bayern Munich, who round off the list in 25th place with earnings of $235m (£189m). Those figures are far from what the Dallas Cowboys, whom Forbes have crowned the most profitable sports club in the world, are raking in.
They have an eye-watering £1bn ($1.2 billion) operating profit across the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons. That is almost double that of their closest contenders at the top of the list, the New England Patriots, who sit on £536m ($623m).
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The Pats then have a sizeable £200m-plus gap between themselves and Tottenham. Fourth is the first NBA franchise featured on the rankings, the New York Knicks.
The Dallas Cowboys are the most profitable team in sports (Getty Images)Despite not winning a championship since the 1970s, the Knicks remain on top based on profitability. Their earnings of £324m ($404m) pips Man Utd to fourth place on the list.
The Houston Texans are the next NFL team on the list in sixth before the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers are sandwiched between the New York Giants to complete the first nine names. The Los Angeles Rams are ranked in eleventh, between Man City and Liverpool.
The Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles all find themselves in the top 25.
From the NBA, four other franchises feature: the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets. No MLB or NHL teams feature, which Forbes claims is partially because baseball and ice hockey are more reliant on ticket sales, which dried up during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is also noted that their less lucrative broadcasting contracts cannot compare to the riches received by NBA and NFL franchises. The punitive competitive balance tax on baseball teams is also cited as reflecting less favourably on them than on sports teams operating under a salary cap.
The NFL dominance is the real story, though. In total, 13 franchises make up the top 25.