Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- The Utah Jazz's value increased 13% to $3.67 billion, ranking 22nd in the NBA.
- Sportico's valuation aligns closely with Forbes, placing the Jazz at $3.55 billion.
- Smith Entertainment Group also owns Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals, and Utah Hockey Club.
SALT LAKE CITY — Along with every other team in the NBA, the value of the Utah Jazz increased substantially in the past year.
Sportico recently published its 2024 list of franchise valuations, with the Golden State Warriors at the top of the league ranking and the Memphis Grizzlies at the bottom. An NBA team is worth, on average, $4.6 billion, according to Sportico's calculations. The total is up 15% over 2023 and nearly double that of four years ago, when the average was $2.37 billion.
"The gains at the bottom of the financial table are even greater, with the current $3.06 billion 'get-in' price 127% higher than four years ago," according to the online sports business publication.
At $9.14 billion, the Warriors had the highest valuation of any professional sports franchise in the U.S., outside the Dallas Cowboys, which Sportico places at $10.3 billion. After Golden State, the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers came in at $8.3 billion and $8.7 billion, respectively, among NBA teams. The Grizzlies ranked last among the NBA's 30 teams at $3.06 billion.
The Brooklyn Nets' value rose more than any other NBA team over the past year, a whopping 43% to $5.7 billion, according to Sportico. The Phoenix Suns had the lowest increased value at 8%.
What are the Utah Jazz worth?
Ryan and Ashley Smith, principals of Smith Entertainment Group, reportedly paid $1.66 billion for the Utah Jazz when they bought the team from longtime owner Gail Miller and her family in 2020. And while the team struggles on the court, its value continues an upward trajectory.
Sportico valued the Jazz at $3.67 billion, about a billion dollars less than the league-wide average and more than $5 billion less than the Warriors. That ranked Utah 22nd in the NBA, just behind the Indiana Pacers and just ahead of the Portland Trailblazers. The 2024 Jazz valuation marked a 13% increase over the previous year, according to the publication.
To derive the market value of NBA franchises, Sportico said it calculated each team's revenue relying on publicly available information and financial records along with interviews with those knowledgeable of team finances, including sports bankers and attorneys who actively work on NBA transactions. Sportico added that "in the interest of accuracy, we traded candor for anonymity."
Multiple owners, team or parent company CEOs, presidents, chief financial officers and media relations personnel along with industry experts and investors vetted the information, according to the publication.
Sportico's valuation of the Jazz isn't much different than the figure Forbes placed on the franchise. Forbes' NBA team valuations for the 2024-25 season put the Jazz at $3.55 billion, ranking 23rd in the league and up nearly $500 million from the previous year.
Value added
The total value of all NBA teams is $138 billion, including real estate held by owners and team-related businesses, such as WNBA franchises, per Sportico. The 30 franchises generated an estimated $11.6 billion in 2023, or $387 million per club. Team sponsorship rose about 15%, and non-NBA events boosted club revenues at arenas owned or operated by the NBA franchise.
"The concert business has boomed coming out of COVID-19 and can add more than $25 million to the bottom line of teams at top arenas," Sportico reported. NBA owners operated 10 of the world's 20 highest-grossing concert venues in 2024, according to Billboard.
In Utah, Smith Entertainment Group owns the Delta Center, the Jazz's home arena and venue for other money-making events including concerts and, since last October, Utah Hockey Club games. The company bought the NHL team last April.
What is the Utah Hockey Club worth?
The Smiths this year also bought the NHL's Arizona Coyotes for $1.2 billion and moved the team to Salt Lake City, rebranded as the Utah Hockey Club. Forbes placed the value of the Arizona team at $500 million last year, lowest in the league.
Now three months into its inaugural season, Utah HC isn't the least valuable team in the league anymore. CNBC's Official 2024 NHL Valuations ranks Utah 28th out of 32 teams at $1.2 billion, just what the Smiths paid in April.
In addition to the Jazz, Smith Entertainment Group also owns the MLS soccer team Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals of the NWSL.
