Want to own the only major professional team in Brooklyn? Have $1.7 billion handy, and Mikhail Prokhorov might heli-ski to your house himself.
Forbes Magazine released its annual NBA Valuations Wednesday, with the Brooklyn Nets ranking seventh out of all 30 NBA teams at a valuation of $1.7 billion. They also list the Nets with a revenue of $220 million, but they’re the only team in the top 10 with a negative operating income, at $5.7 million in the red. That may not be as bad as it sounds: the team’s operating income last year was just about $100 million below even.
The New York Knicks are the league’s most valuable team, listed at $3 billion. At the bottom is the New Orleans Pelicans, valued at $650 million.
Mikhail Prokhorov bought the majority stake of the team and a 45% stake in Barclays Center operations back in 2010 for around $200 million, before buying up the remaining shares in both properties this past December. The valuation is for both team and arena operations; more of the value comes from the market ($611 million) and the arena ($554 million) than the sport ($361 million).
The valuation is a 13% increase from last year, which was the average jump of all teams. The market for NBA teams has steadied a bit, after an average increase in value of 72% last year. Despite the Nets’ increase in value, they actually fell one spot from sixth to seventh, now behind the Golden State Warriors (who increased in value by 46% to $1.9 billion after winning an NBA championship last year).
Here’s the methodology, per Forbes:
Revenues and operating income are for the 2014-15 season and net of revenue sharing and arena debt service. Team values are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) of team based on current arena deal (unless new arena pending). Operating income is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
The standard caveat applies that these are Forbes valuations, not ticket prices. You can’t go to the store and buy an NBA team for its listed price. Besides, your monthly rent in Brooklyn cuts into most of that $1.7 billion anyway.
Forbes — Brooklyn Nets on the Forbes NBA Team Valuations List
