Indianapolis Colts: 27th Most Valuable Sports Franchise

The Indianapolis Colts are worth as much as $1.7 billion, according to Forbes. The annual rankings has the team as the 27th most valuable franchise in the world.

As a whole, the NFL had 20 teams ranked in the top 50. And the most valuable of those NFL franchises? The Dallas Cowboys, who were number two overall with a total value of $3.2 billion. The Cowboys were just behind Real Madrid from the Spanish premier league.

The Colts improved over the past year and saw their value increase by 17 percent, and will likely see the team’s value improve in the future.

"QB Andrew Luck led the Colts to the playoffs with identical 11-5 records in each of his three seasons since being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2012. Luck’s next contract is likely to be the richest in NFL history."

The Colts were sandwiched on the rankings between the Denver Broncos and MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals. Surprisingly, the Houston Texans were 16th on the list, and from a football perspective that doesn’t make much sense until you include the team hosting the Super Bowl in 2017.

While the Colts might be valued at $1.7 billion, the actual value of the franchise (and really any NFL team) is what someone is willing to pay. The NFL made roughly $11 billion in 2014, a figure that has gone up steadily every single year. That ensures a franchise buyer would be making his money back in short order.

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer bought the LA Clippers for $2 billion last year. The Clippers are more highly valued than the Colts and a lot of that has to do with the location (LA generates more interest than Indianapolis for some reason).

The NBA pulled in just under $5 billion in the 2013-14 season. Less than half of the NFL. If Colts owner Jim Irsay were ever to sell his beloved franchise, he could easily expect more than $2 billion just because it’s an NFL team.