America offers four professional sports leagues that make up what is known as the Big Four, which are the NFL, NBA, MLB, and the NHL. When it comes to Forbes annual rating of sports franchises globally, out of the top 50, the NFL has the most franchises listed at 20, the MLB has 12, and the NBA has 10 franchises, whereas the NHL has none. Also, within that global list there are seven soccer franchises that make the list, of which three out of the top five in franchise valuations in the entire world are, in fact, soccer franchises, with Real Madrid leading the way as the most valuable sports team in the world.
Currently, the most value team in America’s own soccer league, the MLS, is the Seattle Sounders at $245 million as estimated by Forbes, whereas the least valuable hockey team in America is the Florida Panthers at $190 million. While the NHL franchises in aggregate are much more valuable by a considerable margin over the MLS franchises, the most valuable NFL franchises are Canadian and not American, in addition the NHL is a league that has been around for generations whereas the MLS was created in 1993. Yet, on every single metric that measures the popularity of sports and value, the NHL will be trumped by the MLS probably within the next generation.
While the NFL is the most popular and most valuable sport in America, the NFL for many reasons, such as violence and physical size, will never be able to be translated into a sport that will be played throughout the world. It may be watched in many countries outside of America, and popular within those countries, but it is seen primarily as a unique sport peculiar to America. The most popular sport in the world, played in virtually every country in the world, is soccer, and this popularity is unassailable. The reason why three out of the top five sports franchises in the world are soccer franchises, is because soccer is truly a global sport which has branded its biggest teams and names throughout the world quite successfully, and although soccer is still a relative minnow within America, the forces behind soccer and its success, desperately want to add America as its crown jewel, and it is only a matter of time before this happens.
The major businesses, advertisers, media outlets, and sports owners, are always looking for a way to increase popularity and value of the overall sports world and the fact that soccer, as well as specifically the MLS, have built a solid foundation within America, is exactly what everybody involved desires. This means that the people that finance and support the sport of soccer in America, are seriously motivated to see that soccer becomes a secure fixture within the American sports world, which it has already essentially become. The true test will come, though, when franchise values of MLS teams reach and break through themagical $1 billion mark, an absolute certainty, by 2050, if not earlier.