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Forbes is the authority on everything money-related, and they've released their yearly list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world. Your Houston Texans come in at #12 with an estimated value of $1.45 billion with a B. They're just ahead of the New York Knicks ($1.4 billion) and right behind the Boston Red Sox ($1.5 billion).
If you want a chuckle: 30 of the 32 NFL teams made the list of 50, leaving -- you guessed it -- the Oakland Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars on the outside looking in.
At the top of the list sit Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. Their values hover around $3 billion and remind us that soccer is truly the world's sport.
The Dallas Cowboys clock in at #5 with a business ledger worth $2.3 billion, making them the league's most valuable franchise (again). If nothing else, Jerry Jones is a brilliant businessman.
If you needed more evidence that fan interest in the Texans is as high as ever, check out this story by The Street that listed the Texans' preseason tickets as the most expensive in secondary markets. That means tickets are being bought up via official team channels and then being re-sold with a much higher markup on places like StubHub.
The Texans has one of the more intriguing story lines going into the preseason. The team hired a new coach in Bill O'Brien and took Jadeveon Clowney with the number one overall pick in this year's NFL Draft. After having the worst record in the NFL, there is much promise for the Texans, who will have one of the most feared defenses in the league with J.J. Watt, Brian Cushing and the aforementioned Jadeveon Clowney.
Even after the coaching staff named Ryan Fitzpatrick the starting quarterback, there's still plenty of intrigue around Case Keenum and rookie Tom Savage. Preseason games on the Houston Texans schedule include games against the Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers at an average price of $132.
Cha-ching.
So how many season ticket holders do we have around here? How much are you ponying up every year for the privilege of watching every home game at NRG Stadium? Sound off, dear readers.