Yankees extend reign as MLB's most valuable team

(Reuters) - The New York Yankees maintained their status as Major League Baseball's most valuable team and are worth an estimated $3.7 billion, according to a survey released by Forbes on Tuesday.

The 27-time World Series champion Yankees, who have held the top spot on the list in each of the 20 years Forbes has been tracking MLB valuations, are worth nearly $1 billion more than the next most valuable team.

Forbes said the average MLB team is worth $1.54 billion, a 19 percent rise from last year, which the magazine attributed to new local television deals that are increasing at roughly a two-fold rate, as well as a surge in profitability.

The Los Angeles Dodgers ($2.75 billion), Boston Red Sox ($2.7 billion), World Series champion Chicago Cubs ($2.67 billion) and San Francisco Giants ($2.65 billion) rounded out of the top five.

The Yankees, who last year missed the postseason for the third time in four season, saw their revenue rise 2 percent to an MLB-high $526 million, according to Forbes.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine)