Forbes just released its list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises across the globe, and for the first time Miami is home to two of them. The Miami Dolphins are virtually shoe-ins just by virtue of being a longstanding NFL team, but the Miami Heat rocketed onto the list for the first time. In fact, Forbes estimates the team's value has increased 53 percent in the past year despite the loss of LeBron James and sitting out the playoffs.
Forbes defines the value of a team as "enterprise values (equity plus debt) based on current venue deals (unless a new venue is pending)."
The Heat are now worth $1.18 billion according to the publication. That puts them at 47th on the list. In 2014, Forbes valued the team at $770 million.
Forbes doesn't offer much direct reasoning for its perceived worth of the Heat (though it notes that local TV ratings are down 27 percent), since the increased valuations has to do with surging values for NBA teams in general. Last year, only four NBA teams cracked the top 50. Ten teams made the list this year. That's likely in part because of Steve Ballmer buying the L.A. Clippers for $2 billion last year, which reset the presumed value of NBA teams in general.
Elsewhere, the Dolphins are valued at $1.3 billion, making them the 37th most valuable team in the world. That's up from their $1.07 billion valuation last year, though that's down from their rank of 29th last year.
The Dolphins' value isn't growing as fast as other NFL teams, and this year both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks overtook the Dolphins in terms of value.
Real Madrid, the Dallas Cowboys, the New York Yankees, FC Barcelona, and Manchester United were ranked as the five most valuable teams in the world. Though some European soccer teams took top spots, Forbes' list is mostly dominated by American teams, the NFL in particular.