Texans 12th in annual Forbes value rankings

1.45 billion.

According to Forbes magazine, that's the estimated value of the Houston Texans organization. Forbes recently released 'The World's 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams', with the Texans checking in 12th overall. The Texans rank fifth among teams in the National Football League. Only the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Washington Redskins and New York Giants were ranked higher. The Texans will square off against Washington to open the 2014 season and will travel to face the New York Giants in week three. Houston also heads to Dallas to take on the Cowboys during the 2014 slate.

Soccer power Real Madrid was number one overall with an estimated value of $3.44 billion. The Texans moved up one spot from last year's rankings.

The magazine has been valuing sports teams and league since 1998. According to the article, Forbes values are enterprise values based on current venue deals. The top 50 uses published valuations for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR and soccer from the past calendar year. The organizations ranked in the top 50 have an average worth of $1.34 billion, which is an eight percent increase over last year. The Texans are one of 38 teams listed to have an estimated worth of over $1 billion.

Despite not having the top overall team, the NFL made up the majority of the top 50 with 30 teams listed. In addition to mentioning the team's stadium naming rights deal and ticket sales in their 2013 write up, the magazine credited the organization's selection of Jadeveon Clowney with the top overall draft pick this past May as a reason for continued growth despite the team's struggles on the field last season. Below is a list of the top 12 in the Forbes list.

1. Real Madrid ($3.44 billion)
2. FC Barcelona ($3.2 billion)
3. Manchester United ($2.81 billion)
4. New York Yankees ($2.5 billion)
5. Dallas Cowboys ($2.3 billion)
6. Los Angeles Dodgers ($2 billion)
7. Bayern Munich ($1.85 billion)
8. New England Patriots ($1.8 billion)
9. Washington Redskins ($1.7 billion)
10. New York Giants ($1.55 billion)
11. Boston Red Sox ($1.5 billion)
    12. Houston Texans ($1.4 billion)

To view the full Forbes rankings, click here.