D.C. United’s fake value is going up, even though it still doesn’t matter

Forbes released its annual list of the estimated valuations of Major League Soccer teams today. These lists, just like their lists of billionaires, are just for fun; they have no insider information whatsoever, and so are based on publicly available information and guesses. Still, it is interesting to see where an outside eye sees MLS teams, especially in comparison within the league.

The top four teams are unsurprising: the Seattle Sounders lead the way at $285 million, with the LA Galaxy, New York City FC, and Toronto FC close behind. These are the big market teams with rich ownership groups behind them. At the other end, Real Salt Lake, Columbus Crew SC, and the Colorado Rapids at $115 million round out the bottom. RSL is a little surprising, but the other two are small market and oft-ignored teams, though both have won MLS Cups in the recent past.

United is near the middle, in 13th, with a valuation $155M; that is up $15M from just last year and up a whopping $84M since 2013. United are in the same spot as last year, and so are keeping up with the other teams in MLS; look for a jump in their fake value in two years as the new stadium opens.

You can find the full list on Forbes’ website.