NYCFC: Soccer clubs see massive increase in Forbes valuation

Two years removed from an MLS title and a new stadium on the horizon has likely helped the Forbes valuation of New York City Football Club (NYCFC) which was released on Thursday. Forbes valued the team at a whopping $800 million, which was a dramatic increase from the $385 million valuation it gave the club back in 2019.

NYCFC has only four teams valued higher than them, with Atlanta FC being valued at $850 million, the Los Angeles Galaxy valued at $925 million and LACFC becoming the first MLS team valued at $1 billion. Forbes valued the New York Red Bulls, who play at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, at $525 million.

Even with the increase in NYCFC’s value, they remain well below the New York teams in the big four sports leagues. And among the MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL and MLS clubs based in the New York Metro area, only NYCFC and the Red Bulls are valued below $1 billion.

New York City Football Club has had plenty go their way over the past few years. They captured their first MLS Cup in 2021 in a victory over the Portland Timbers and in November, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to build a 25,000-seat soccer-specific stadium for NYCFC in the Willets Point section of Queens right next door to Citi Field.

It would end the nomadic lifestyle the club has had to endure since its inception playing at Yankee Stadium and being bumped to surrounding area stadiums when the Yankees’ schedule has conflicted with the MLS schedule.

NYCFC is coming off a season where the club went 16-7 and reached the Conference Finals before being knocked out by the Philadelphia Union. The team averaged 17,180 fans this past season.

The Red Bulls were knocked out of the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs this year and averaged just a hair under NYCFC in attendance with 17,002.

Soccer and MLS continue to be a growing sport in the United States and Forbes’ valuation of a team at $1 billion is a historic moment for the domestic soccer league. The league’s $2.5 billion TV rights deal with Apple also likely played into the rising value of MLS teams.