According to Forbes, Major League Soccer now has five billion-dollar clubs — and New York City FC is one of them.
The financial publication just released its annual MLS valuation, and the list is topped by Inter Miami ($1.35 billion), which edged out LAFC ($1.32 billion) to take the lead spot. The Top 5 is rounded out by LA Galaxy ($1.08 billion), New York City FC ($1.02 billion), and Atlanta United ($1 billion).
According to Forbes, the MLS average club value is now $731 million, up 5.9% from the $690 million average in 2025.
| Club | Valuation | $ Change* | % Change* | Place Change* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inter Miami | $1.35 billion | $150 million | 12.5% | + 1 |
| 2 | LAFC | $1.32 billion | $70 million | 5.6% | - 1 |
| 3 | LA Galaxy | $1.08 billion | $80 million | 8.0% | — |
| 4 | New York City FC | $1.02 billion | $145 million | 16.5% | + 1 |
| 5 | Atlanta United | $1 billion | $25 million | 2.6% | - 1 |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders | $860 million | $60 million | 7.4% | + 1 |
| 7 | Austin FC | $855 million | $30 million | 3.6% | - 1 |
| 8 | Columbus Crew | $805 million | $70 million | 9.5% | + 1 |
| 9 | FC Cincinnati | $800 million | $70 million | 9.6% | + 1 |
| 10 | San Diego FC | $795 million | — | — | — |
| 11 | DC United | $785 million | — | 0.0% | - 3 |
| 12 | Charlotte FC | $740 million | $40 million | 5.7% | — |
| 13 | Toronto FC | $725 million | — | 0.0% | - 2 |
| 14 | Philadelphia Union | $715 million | $25 million | 3.6% | - 1 |
| 15 | St Louis City | $710 million | $25 million | 3.7% | - 1 |
| 16 | Portland Timbers | $705 million | $35 million | 5.2% | - 1 |
| 17 | Sporting Kansas City | $700 million | $50 million | 7.7% | - 1 |
| 18 | Minnesota United | $625 million | $15 million | 2.5% | - 1 |
| 19 | Nashville SC | $620 million | $50 million | 8.8% | — |
| 20 | Red Bull New York | $610 million | $30 million | 5.2% | - 1 |
| 21 | Chicago Fire | $575 million | $60 million | 11.7% | + 3 |
| 22 | FC Dallas | $570 million | $25 million | 4.6% | - 1 |
| 23 | Houston Dynamo | $565 million | $15 million | 2.7% | - 3 |
| 24 | San Jose Earthquakes | $550 million | $10 million | 1.9% | - 2 |
| 25 | New England Revolution | $540 million | $20 million | 3.9% | - 2 |
| 26 | Real Salt Lake | $510 million | $10 million | 2.0% | - 1 |
| 27 | Orlando City | $475 million | — | 0.0% | - 1 |
| 28 | Colorado Rapids | $450 million | $35 million | 8.4% | + 1 |
| 29 | Vancouver Whitecaps | $445 million | $5 million | 1.1% | - 2 |
| 30 | CF Montréal | $440 million | $5 million | 1.2% | - 2 |
The Forbes valuations come on the heels of the valuations released by Sportico on Tuesday. The numbers in Sportico are slightly more generous, with the average MLS club worth $767 million, and Inter Miami leading the league with a valuation of $1.45 billion. According to Sportico, New York City is worth $1.12 billion, which puts the club in 5th place behind Inter Miami, LAFC ($1.4 billion), LA Galaxy ($1.17 billion), and Atlanta United ($1.14 billion).
Here are five observations about the MLS valuations released by Forbes.
Andrew Leigh
1) Inter Miami, NYCFC, Chicago Fire are the biggest climbers
Miami's valuation grew by $150 million in 2025, giving it the biggest year-over-year increase. New York City is close behind after growing $145 million, giving the club a league-best growth rate of 16.5% — Miami is second in this category with 12.5%, and Chicago Fire third with 11.7%.
In fact, Chicago jumped the most places in the league, climbing three spots to #21 with an overall valuation of $575 million. Chicago's climb is even more impressive when you consider San Diego FC's debut at #10 with $795 million, pushing many teams down one spot on the table.
2) The Big 5
Growth is not distributed evenly across the league. The five billion-plus clubs at the top of the table account for most of the league's increase in value, adding $470 million between them this past year. The remaining 25 teams added just a combined $685 million.
No teams lost value, according to Forbes. This is in contrast to the valuations in Sportico, which estimated that the worth fell for San Jose Earthquakes, Vancouver Whitecaps, and CF Montréal. But the gap between #5 Atlanta and #6 Seattle Sounders is now $140 million — last year, there was just $50 million separating #5 New York City and #6 Austin FC.
3) Just 14 Clubs operating in the black
Forbes includes revenue and operating income in their figures, and even though these are estimations (see below), they give us some indication of cash flow in MLS.
Just 14 of the 30 clubs in the league are making a profit. Most of those are clustered at the top of the valuation table – seven of the Top 10 are in the black – with (no surprise) Miami leading MLS with $200 million in revenue and $50 million in operating profit.
Other profitable clubs include LAFC ($167 million in revenue, $14 million in operating profit), DC United ($99 million, $12 million), and Atlanta United ($105 million, $10 million). Even clubs farther down the list are operating at a profit, including #20 Red Bull New York ($75 million, $1 million), #21 Chicago ($64 million, $6 million), and #25 New England Revolution ($60 million, $1 million).
The highest-ranking team operating at a loss? That would be New York City, which had $90 million in revenue and -$5 million in operating profit.
4) New York City's value increased 3x in 11 years
According to the historical figures published by Forbes, New York City's valuation rose from $255 million in 2016 to $1.02 billion today. That's an increase of $847 million, or 332.2%.
| Year | Publication | Valuation | $ Change* | % Change* | MLS Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Forbes | $1.02 billion | $145 million | 16.5% | #4 |
| 2026 | Sportico | $1.12 billion | $120 million | 12.0% | #5 |
| 2025 | Forbes | $875 million | $25 million | 2.9% | #5 |
| 2025 | Sportico | $1 billion | $160 million | 19.1% | #5 |
| 2024 | Forbes | $850 million | $50 million | 6.3% | #5 |
| 2024 | Sportico | $840 million | $150 million | 21.7% | #5 |
| 2023 | Forbes | $800 million | $385 million | 107.8% | #4 |
| 2022 | Sportico | $690 million | $35 million | 5.3% | #7 |
| 2021 | Sportico | $655 million | – | – | #5 |
| 2020 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2019 | Forbes | $385 million | $107 million | 38.5% | #7 |
| 2018 | Forbes | $278 million | $3 million | 1.1% | #7 |
| 2017 | Forbes | $275 million | $20 million | 7.8% | #4 |
| 2016 | Forbes | $255 million | – | – | #3 |
That's significantly better than the return you'd get from the S&P 500. Had you put that $255 million in an index fund in 2015, your investment would have grown $616 million to $871 million, or 241.6%.
5) The numbers are make-believe
As always, we end with the same disclaimer we add to every one of these valuation reports. The numbers are as much about vibes as they are actual figures. Both Sportico and Forbes claim that they survey MLS executives and gain insider information based on granting anonymity, but neither publication publishes their raw figures.
These numbers are fun to parse, but they're make-believe.
