Yankees worth their weight in gold

In January of 1973, George M. Steinbrenner III led a group of investors in purchasing the New York Yankees franchise from CBS. The deal was reported to be around $10 million - not too much money for a chairman and CEO of a shipbuilding company. Today, Forbes released their annual list of the top 50 most valuable sports franchises. The Yankees, again, find themselves at the top - weighing in at fourth place and valued at around $2.3 billion. Not a bad investment for the Steinbrenner family. Since the Yankees had struggled for most of the previous decade in the 1960's, the CBS ownership was willing to part ways with a once golden franchise. What Steinbrenner would do with the organization would transcend business in professional sports heading into the 21st century. With a gleaming $1 billion state-of-the-art stadium, the Yankees also own the most successful Regional Sports Network in the country - YES. The organization sold part of their interest in the network to FOX, which obtained 49% back in 2012. According to Forbes, "the team's rights fee from YES will increase from $85 million this season to $350 million in 2042 as part of the deal." Although there have been rumors that the Steinbrenners have been "shopping" the team, Hal has repeatedly said that's not true - and that the Yankees will keep ownership in the family. Here are Forbes' top 10. The full list of 50 can be seen here: 1. Real Madrid - Futbol - $3.3 billion 2. Manchester United - Futbol- $3.165 billion 3. Barcelona - Futbol - $2.6 billion 4. New York Yankees - Baseball - $2.3 billion 5. Dallas Cowboys - American Football - $2.1 billion 6. New England Patriots - American Football - $1.635 billion 7. Los Angeles Dodgers - Baseball - $1.615 billion 8. Washington Redskins - American Football - $1.6 billion 9. New York Giants - American Football - $1.468 billion 10. Arsenal - Futbol - $1.326 billion