All these revenue streams will further feed soaring team valuations. Over the past decade, lucrative media rights deals have fueled rising valuations. Forbes estimates that the Knicks, the NBA’s most valuable franchise, are now worth a league-record $3.6 billion, a fivefold increase over the team’s $613 million valuation in 2008.
Gambling could have a similar effect. “It’s not hyperbole -- they will at least double,” Mark Cuban, the owner of basketball’s Dallas Mavericks, wrote in an email, pointing to increased competition for media rights and a bigger audience.
Owners can definitely expect a boost, said Peter Schwartz, a valuations expert and consultant at Anderson Economic Group in New York. “The primary driver would be the potential revenue that leagues could generate from becoming business partners with gaming corporations,” he said, suggesting that teams might share the revenue as they currently do with media money.
Some of that will depend on how quickly owners move to embrace the new market. Some owners, like Leonsis, have already considered a future where his arena doubles as a sports book. “This is a new frontier for professional sports,” Leonsis aid. “Teams who don’t seize on this opportunity will be left behind.”