Least Profitable Sports Leagues

Let's take a look at the top 5 sport leagues which generates the least amount of earnings ever since it has been established.

#5

Professional Bowlers Association (PBA): Loss of $30 million

In the late 1990s, PBA was struggling to survive in the sports industry and had to look for alternatives to keep the ball rolling. In 2000, pro bowling received help from three former Microsoft executives who bought the PBA in hopes of not only to generate profit, but also to create a spark in the Bowling industry once again. The investent has yet to pay off, and the owners lost about $30 million during their six year ownership.

#4

Xtreme Football League (XFL): Loss of $46.9 million

When XFL made it's first apperance in the world of sports, many people tuned into it just because it was under the operations of Vince McMahon. McMahon well known for his ownership of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) tried to provide his own version of the NFL. However it didn't succeed, and as a result, attendance was always below the 10% targeted goal and the loss of the $46.9 million forced the XFL to close it's short-lived fiasco.

#3

Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA): Loss of $100 million

WUSA was founded in 2001 and was the world's first league of full-time pro women's soccer players. It commenced with eight teams in April 2001 but however, the league suspended operations on September 15, 2003, at the end of its third season. The failure was reflected on the tv ratings and attendance never met it's expectations. The expenses were much greater than the leagues budget of $40 million for a five-year period. Team owners in WUSA had to invest more than $100 million to fund the league.

#2

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA): Loss of $120 million

The WNBA has been around for more than 10 years, but it has never been able to achieve it's goals of attracting viewers and investors. Its chief financial backer is the NBA, which invests $12 million into the WNBA every year. The league started with eight teams, another eight entered, three clubs disbanded, two moved to different locations, and lastly one team was added.

#1

Major League Soccer (MLS): Loss of $350 million

In November 2004, Adidas announced that it would invest $100 million into MLS over a 10-year period to become the league's key sponsor. There are a total of 15 teams in the league which are divided into Eastern and Western conferences. Western conference consisted of 8 teams and Eastern has 7. According to a 2004 article in BusinessWeek MLS has lost more than $350 million since opening day in 1996. In 2004, BusinessWeek reported that just one team, the Los Angeles Galaxy, had ever made an operating profit as of now.