American soccer teams are quickly becoming some of the most valuable in the global game.

Forbes’ 2023 list of most valuable soccer clubs rightfully highlights European giants Real Madrid and Manchester United — each of which surpassed the $6 billion mark for the first time — but also includes three Major League Soccer teams in the top 20 after none last year.

LAFC ranked 17th on the list and first among its domestic rivals with a $1 billion valuation. That puts the defending MLS champions just below Serie A stalwarts Inter Milan ($1.03 billion) and above Premier League clubs like Crystal Palace and Newcastle United.

The LA Galaxy ($925 million) were just behind their Southern California counterparts in 18th, while Atlanta United ($850 million) was 19th. 

Four other MLS teams made the list of 30 clubs — NYCFC, D.C. United, Toronto FC, and Austin FC, with the lowest valuation coming in at $680 million.

Meanwhile, 2016 Premier League champs Leicester City — whose fall from grace and descent to relegation was discussed on the most recent episode of the Front Office Sports Today podcast — came in 23rd with a $781 million valuation. 

The Foxes can expect that number to go down next year as they operate without a share of the lucrative EPL media rights and try to earn their spot back in the first tier of English soccer.

The ongoing legal battle between Adidas and Ye has taken another turn.

A federal judge denied a request from the athletic apparel company to refreeze $75 million worth of funds it paid to Ye, formerly known as Kanye West. A months-long freeze on the money was lifted last week.

Adidas claimed the $75 million is at risk of never being recovered, citing reports that Ye may be headed for insolvency and therefore unable to pay the money back. 

While the ruling is a short-term loss for Adidas, the brand may still prevail. The judge said that it seemed likely Adidas would eventually win back the $75 million in arbitration.

The saga has been making constant headlines since Adidas dropped Ye after he made antisemitic comments in October. In early May, Adidas finally decided to move forward with selling the remainder of its Yeezy product line — worth about $1.3 billion — and donate the proceeds to charity. 

Adidas was able to beat quarterly revenue projections in May, however — the 1% dip it reported was something of a relief after analysts predicted a 4% downturn.

More court developments could come later this week as lawyers for the company and controversial rapper/entrepreneur continue to search for a compromise.

After months of tension, Major League Baseball’s day of reckoning with regional sports networks has arrived — which could have seismic effects on one of the sport’s key revenue streams.

Since early this year, MLB has been actively preparing to take over the local TV rights of 14 teams served by Bally Sports and its bankrupt parent, Diamond Sports Group. Now, Diamond has officially missed its rights payment to the San Diego Padres, prompting the league’s immediate takeover of the team’s local rights.

Starting Wednesday, MLB will distribute Padres games on DirecTV, Cox, AT&T U-Verse, fuboTV, Spectrum, and MLB.TV, dispensing with blackouts typically shutting local fans out from watching their teams. 

With these changes, the ballclub’s local footprint grows from about 1.13 million homes to around 3.26 million.

“While we’re disappointed that Diamond Sports Group failed to live up to their contractual agreement with the club, we are taking this opportunity to reimagine the distribution model, remove blackouts on local games, improve the telecast, and expand the reach of Padres games by more than 2 million homes,” said Noah Garden, MLB chief revenue officer.

But as the league and newly hired executive VP of local media Billy Chambers implement this plan, uncertainty abounds. Local media is typically one of the top three revenue streams for any MLB club. The Padres — who are paying a club-record $250 million player payroll this year — are looking to replace the annual $60 million received from Diamond.

More missed payments are expected as Diamond wrestles with more than $8 billion in debt. Diamond has only paid half what it owes to Arizona, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Texas — and will attempt to lower those fees in a bankruptcy court hearing Wednesday.