A new study ranked all of the world’s professional sports teams by salary. You’ll never guess who came out on top. None other than the New York Yankees, of course. There are actually seven American teams in the top ten.
Here is the list of the top 10 highest paid professional sports teams. The list is courtesy of the Annual Review of Global Sports Strategies, published by sportingintelligence.com. The dollar amount given is approximate.
1. New York Yankees – Major League Baseball (USA) – $7,000,000. George Steinbrenner’s crew has outspent other Major League teams every year since 2000, and the Yankees’ 2009 World Series title was their first since then. Critics have said that the Yankees buy championships.
2. Real Madrid – La Liga (ESP) – $6,333,591. As part of a summer spending spree last year, Real Madrid paid a $120 million transfer fee to British Manchester United for the rights of Cristiano Ronaldo. They wound up spending more than $250 million in salary and fees that year.
3. Barcelona – La Liga (ESP) – $6,082,940. Barcelona won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League last year, behind FIFA World Player of the Year Lionel Messi.
4. Chelsea – English Premier League (GBR) – $5,361,957. Chelsea has won two FA Cup titles in the past three years. They are, however, still looking for its first Premier League title since 2006.
5. Dallas Mavericks – National Basketball Association (USA) – $5,315,097. The Mavericks have recently qualified for the playoffs for the 10th straight season, under owner Mark Cuban.
6. Los Angeles Lakers – National Basketball Association (USA) – $5,098,920. Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are one of three teams on this list to have won a title in 2009.
7. Detroit Pistons – National Basketball Association (USA) – $4,995,573. The Pistons had the third highest payroll in the NBA last season.
8. Cleveland Cavaliers – National Basketball Association (USA) – $4,940,707. Cleveland currently has the best record in the NBA. Lebron James will become a free agent in July.
9. Boston Celtics – National Basketball Association (USA) – $4,885,055. The Celtics won a title in 2008, but nothing since.
10. New York Knicks – National Basketball Association (USA) – $4,881,952. The Knicks highest paid player is more known for sitting on the bench in street clothes and ranting on the internet.
Come on now, this is just ridiculous; these players do not need to be paid this much damn money. This is one reason why so many professional sports players get themselves in trouble. But who am I to talk, right?