Future outlook
When you look at the future, it’s extremely bright for the Knicks. While Forbes hasn’t updated their valuation list for all sports teams this year, they did release their latest NBA ranking in February. At the time they still had the Knicks ranked 1st, as their value increased 15% to $4.6B despite not landing a superstar in free agency or trading for one like the Lakers did (Anthony Davis).
The NFL is still king in the U.S. by a long shot; however, the outlook for the sport isn’t as bright as basketball. It’s appeal globally can only grow so much. It’s hard for kids across the world to play American football. Then there are the health concerns that have resulted in lower participation in the sport. That is why basketball will remain firmly entrenched as the second most popular sport in the world after soccer.
When you look at popularity by age demographic, the future looks great according to a poll ran by analytics firm MarketCast, which is referenced in the Forbes article.
The NFL is the most popular sport among fans 35 years of age, and highest for those in the age group 35-49 at 77%.
However, the favorite sport of younger fans is basketball. Fans aged 18-34 prefer the NBA (41%) slightly more than the NFL (38%). The youngest demographic, fans 13-17, prefer basketball by a greater margin: NBA (57%) to NFL (13%). Then there is baseball, whose fan base is dying, with 40% of sports fans 50 years of age of older preferring America’s past time. However, it decreases to single digits for the younger demographics.
So while the Yankees are currently worth more than the Knicks, it’s inevitable that they will fall from their #2 overall ranking. The Knicks, by default, will surpass the Yankees. There is also a version of the future where the New York Knicks could be the most valuable franchise in the world. Again, let that sink in.