Revealed: The richest sports team in the world

Dubai: The Dallas Cowboys have won the crown as the richest American football team in the world this year, according to the latest Forbes survey of the most valuable teams in the National Football League (NFL).

Although they have not won the Super Bowl in two decades, the Cowboys have the highest valuation of any sports club in the world at $4 billion, outranking Real Madrid’s value, which stood at $3.26 billion as of May 2015.

This is the ninth consecutive year they have landed the top spot in the NFL and the 18th year that Forbes has put together the valuations.

Rounding out the NFL's top five richest American football teams are the New England Patriots, worth $3.2 billion, Washington Redskins ($2.85 billion), New York Giants ($2.8 billion) and San Francisco 49ers ($2.7 billion).

The 49ers posted the biggest jump in value over a period of one year, with their revenue increasing by 69 per cent.

If all sports teams are taken into account, Forbes noted that the five richest in the world are now the Cowboys, Real Madrid ($3.26 billion), Patriots ($3.2 billion), New York Yankees ($3.2 billion) and Barcelona ($3.16 billion).

In May this year, Forbes released its annual list of richest football (soccer) teams in the world, naming Real Madrid in the top spot.

Below is the top 10 richest American football teams in the NFL:

1. Dallas Cowboys ($4 billion)
2.  New England Patriots ($3.2 billion)
3. Washington Redskins ($2.85 billion)
4. New York Giants ($2.8 billion)
5. San Francisco 49ers ($2.7 billion)
6. New York Jets ($2.6 billion)
7. Houston Texans ($2.5 billion)
8. Chicago Bears ($2.45 billion)
9. Philadelphia Eagles ($2.4 billion)
10. Green Bay Packers ($1.95 billion)