Bulls Are Worth a Metric Boatload of Money

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 27, 2011 3:42PM

The Bulls are on the cusp of something special. As the NBA All-Star break approaches, they're far and away the class of the Central Division, winning games despite injuries that have sidelined Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah for long stretches, and Derrick Rose has emerged as a serious candidate for NBA MVP. It all leads to big business at the turnstiles and with merchandise. Forbes released its list of the most valuable NBA teams and the Bulls are valued as the third-most valuable franchise in the league, behind the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers. Forbes Mike Ozanian values the Bulls at $511 million. Ozanian also notes the Cleveland Cavaliers value dropped 26 percent to $355 million, nearly all of that loss in value was attributed to the loss of LeBron James.

Ozanian wrote the average value of NBA franchises is at $369 million, but the league hasn't fully recovered from the recession. 17 teams lost money last year, which you be certain owners and Commissioner David Stern will cite as reasons for a possible lockout after this season.