Cubs ranked MLB’s 4th-most valuable franchise by two outlets

For all the talk about "biblical losses," the Cubs franchise has continued to gain significant value over the past year.

Forbes released its annual MLB franchise valuations on Friday, with the Cubs checking in at a net value of $3.36 billion. That's a 5 percent increase from 2020, when Forbes valued the North Siders at $3.2 billion.

According to Forbes' valuations, the Cubs are currently MLB's fourth-most valued franchise, only trailing the Yankees ($5.25 billion), Dodgers ($3.57 billion) and Red Sox ($3.47 billion). No franchise has lost value over the past year, per Forbes' numbers.

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Another outlet, Sportico, also released its franchise valuations on Friday, listing the Cubs fourth in MLB — behind the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers.

.@Sportico has now done valuations for @NFL, @NBA and @MLB teams.

Here's the top 20, color coded by sport (I don't think any @NHL team would crack list anyway) pic.twitter.com/H8ojlIp62C
— Eben Novy-Williams (@novy_williams) March 26, 2021

Sportico includes ancillary businesses and assets in their valuation that Forbes doesn't. The Cubs' team valuation is $3.67 billion, similar to Forbes' valuation.

Sportico lists the Cubs' overall franchise-related value at $4.14 billion, which appears to include the value of the acquisitions and development under the Ricketts' real estate arm, Hickory Street Capital.