I wrote a somewhat rambling and cathartic diatribe after the Union bowed out of the playoffs with a feckless 3-1 loss in Yankee Stadium a few weeks back.

The crux of the story was how a major market team continues to perform like a small market team, and that just so happens to be the theme in a Forbes story published today that values Jay Sugarman’s franchise at 175 million dollars.

That sounds like a lot of money, especially considering the fact that Sugarman paid somewhere around 20 to 25 million dollars as an expansion fee when the team began playing back in 2010. That fee is now up to $150 million, so the value of the Union has grown by something like 500% just based on league-wide MLS expansion alone. Sugarman, the New York City businessman, could cash out now and make a very nice chunk of change on his investment.

The $175 million number places the Union in the bottom six in total MLS team value, ranked 18th of 23 franchises.

Here’s the top 12:

Philly is way down near the bottom, trailing traditional powerhouse sports markets like Portland, Orlando, and San Jose:

Forbes says that all of these numbers are estimates that do not include stadiums or real estate. Revenue and operating income is from the 2017 season.

More from the story:

“…the average MLS team is now worth $240 million, up 7.6% from last year (ignoring the trio of new teams, the average MLS club value is up 4% year-over-year). Our valuations and financial estimates are based on recent team transactions, dozens of interviews with league insiders and estimates of individual revenue and expense streams.

It’s a pretty poor number in relation to those other teams. The Union play in television market #4 and are located in the 7th-largest American metropolitan area, which six million people call home.

For context, here’s how Forbes recently valued the other teams in town:

The Flyers, Phillies, and Eagles all rank in the top ten of their respective leagues based on the most recent Forbes numbers. The Sixers value I imagine continues to increase in the coming years.

Anyway, the Union gotta step it up. Buy a $3 million dollar striker. Sign Ronaldo and Messi. Just do something interesting.