NY Giants among most valuable pro sports franchises

It pays to be from New York.

That’s the key takeaway from Forbes’ annual ranking of the most valuable franchises in professional sports, that included the NY Giants and two other franchises from the Big Apple in the publication’s list of top-10 most valuable brands.

Coming in ninth place in this year’s rankings, Forbes estimates the NY Giants’ value at approximately $4.3 billion.

Among NFL franchises, the NY Giants rank third, behind the New England Patriots (No. 8, at approximately $4.4 billion), and the most valuable franchise in professional sports, the Dallas Cowboys. Forbes estimates Jerry Jones’ team to be worth a whopping $5.7 billion.

The NY Giants aren’t the only team from the Big Apple to crack the rankings, as the New York Yankees came in second ($5.25 billion), and the New York Knicks third (five billion).

What is so impressive about the NY Giants’ ranking on the list, is that its home stadium; MetLife Stadium, is jointly owned along with the New York Jets.

Whereas, the Dallas Cowboys own AT&T Stadium. Likewise, the New England Patriots are sole owners of Gillette Stadium, funded by owner Robert Kraft’s The Kraft Group, which also built an entire complex around the Patriots’ home stadium which includes several restaurants, retail stores and even a movie theater.

Still, after the Mara family founded the NY Giants in 1925 off an investment of just $500, the family has made quite a return on the franchise, nearly 100 years later.

You can check out the full rankings of the most valuable franchises in sports below:

Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL