Forbes just released the latest rankings based on the value of sports teams and our beloved Vikings made the top 50 list. I must say I was surprised by some of the rankings. Manchester United topped the list at 2.23 billion dollars.

The NFC North panned out like this:

The Bears ranked 16th with a value of 1.09 Billion (yes, that is billion with a B).

The Packers ranked 17th with a value of 1.09 Billion.

The Lions ranked 38th with a value of 844 million.

I was starting to worry the Vikings might not be on the list but.....

Vikings ranked 41st with a value of $796 million. This does take into account the new stadium.

I'm not an accountant but if you take the 600 million paid for the team and their 477 million share of the stadium might have pushed them over the "B" mark. Any way you slice it, that is a pile of money.

After reading the Mike Lynn article I can see why the Vikings are down just a bit. Ranked 31 out-of 32 teams in income. A 15 million dollar payment from the high earning teams to equalize things out. The new stadium should help bring revenue up. It would suck to see football go like baseball were the top teams buy up the talent and dominate year-after-year.