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This morning, Forbes posted an article detailing the significant increase in value of MLS clubs, describing how investments in player salaries, stadiums and infrastructure have resulted in the league's unprecedented growth.
Plenty of interesting tidbits can be found:
-The average MLS club is now worth 157 million dollars, up more than 50% from two years ago.
-20 players in MLS have a base salary of one million, up more than double from two years ago.
-2015 attendance is on pace for a 20% increase from two years ago.
Even television ratings, a longtime thorn in the league's side, have experienced positive growth.
The three games aired on ESPN’s flagship network thus far have averaged 382,000 viewers, up 40% from comparable games in 2013, when the channel averaged 271,000 viewers per MLS broadcast. Viewership of games on Univision’s UniMas is up 13% from 2014, while the shift from NBC to Fox has also resulted in a serious upswing: Games on Fox Sports 1 are averaging 232,000 viewers this season, up a staggering 65% from the 141,000-viewer audience that a typical game on NBCSN drew last season.
All that being said, how much is the Galaxy worth? Forbes estimates the club is valued at 245 million, just shy of the 250 million valuation given to the Seattle Sounders.
Which makes sense. After all, Seattle sells an awful lot of tickets (43,374 a game in 2014 to be exact), and they aren't cheap either. Imagine if they won an MLS Cup.