If only Mayor Rahm could figure out a way of doing a public-private partnership with Chicago’s sports teams. (Kidding! Sort of.)
This week, Forbes released its valuation rankings for all 30 NBA teams and the Bulls checked in third at a cool $800 million, behind only the New York Knicks ($1.1 billion) and Los Angeles Lakers ($1 billion).
The Bulls now join the Bears, Cubs, White Sox, and Blackhawks in Forbes’ top-10 rankings for their respective sports. Here they are, sorted by aggregate worth:
1. Bears: $1.19 billion, 8th in NFL, 9% change in value from previous valuation
2. Cubs: $879 million, 4th in MLB, 14% change in value from previous valuation
3. Bulls: $800 million, 3rd in NBA, 33% change in value from previous valuation
4. Sox: $600 million, 10th in MLB, 14% change in value from previous valuation
5. ‘Hawks: $350 million, 4th in NHL, 14% change in value from previous valuation
It should be noted that the Bulls are now worth only $79 million less than the Cubs, according to Forbes; a year ago, the gap was $262 million.
Despite all the growth, Chicago still has Second City-status compared to New York’s pro franchises.
The Giants ($1.468 billion, 4th in NFL) top the Bears; the combined value of the Yankees and Mets ($2.569 billion) are worth more than a billion dollars more than the Cubs and White Sox ($1.479 billion); and the Rangers ($750 million, 2nd in NHL) are worth twice as much as the Blackhawks.
On paper, that is.




















