NHL franchises are worth an average of $1B for the first time ever

The average NHL franchise is now worth more than $1B for the first time ever, according to annual valuations released by Sportico on Tuesday. The sports business publication reported that franchise values increased nine percent year-over-year, a sharp uptick as revenue has bounced back from the pandemic in a big way.

The NHL still lags far behind its other North American pro sports counterparts. The average NFL team is worth $4.1B, while the average NBA team is at $2.6B and MLB team at $2.3B, according to Sportico. But that has investors seeing value in the NHL, where there are only so many pro sports franchises to go around.

Sportico used an average multiple of 5.3 from revenue to value in order to calculate valuations.

“These leagues and teams are amazing content creators,” Devils co-owner David Blitzer told Sportico. “And you have a supply situation where there are very few new franchises being created, and the demand for them is growing quite dramatically, and you can see it show up with how many people show up at different situations to try and get involved in the process.”

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said last month at the Board of Governors meeting in New York that the league generated a collective $5.4B last year, impressive considering that some arenas spent a portion of the season with no fans in the building given the health restrictions.

To the surprise of no one, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the league’s most valuable property at a projected valuation north of $2.1B. But the Leafs did not generate the most revenue during the 2021-22 season according to Sportico’s calculation – that would be the New York Rangers, who brought in $282M in revenue, as a result of their run to the Eastern Conference Final.

The Arizona Coyotes bring up the rear of the franchise valuations. The league’s 32nd team is worth a reported $465M, which is still up 13% year-over-year. Arizona is the NHL’s only franchise worth less than an approximate $600M, according to Sportico. The Coyotes could also drastically increase in value if they can finally get steel and shovels in the ground on a new arena in Tempe.

The prospect of a new arena is precisely why no team increased more in value than the Ottawa Senators, up 21%, to an estimated $655M. That valuation is expected to increase even more, given the Memorandum of Understanding signed for a prospective new downtown arena in LeBreton Flats. The Sens’ rebuild is coming into focus on the ice, attendance is up to an average of 15,017 this season, and there is a ‘Bill Wirtz Effect’ happening among the fanbase since the surprise passing of owner Eugene Melnyk last March. The Senators, owned under trust by Melnyk’s two daughters, are reportedly now beginning to explore the potential of a sale, according to Sportico.

Given that the Seattle Kraken went for an expansion fee of $650M, it is unlikely the NHL’s Board of Governors would have appetite to approve a future sale for much less than $700M.

The NHL, which did not comment or participate in the story’s calculations, always bristles at public league valuations such as this one. However, Sportico received co-operation from eight NHL franchises as part of the methodology and consulted with public records, market filings, and sports valuation experts in an attempt to accurately gauge franchise values and revenue.