The NHL doesn’t have the buzz of the NBA or blockbuster media deals of the NFL, but its franchise values are soaring just as fast with the biggest gains at the bottom of the financial table.

Sportico spoke to more than 30 people in and around the NHL over the last four weeks, including eight bankers and lawyers involved in team transactions, to gauge the health of the sport. We found the average team is worth an estimated $1.31 billion, up 29% from a year ago. The total value of the NHL’s 32 clubs, including ownerships’ stakes in real estate, venues, TV networks and team-related holdings, is $41.9 billion.

The NHL has a hard cap on both the league and team level. You don’t have the loopholes, like in the NBA where the Warriors and Clippers are on the hook for a combined luxury tax bill of roughly $300 million both last season and the current one on top of their high payrolls. Before the NHL cap was introduced for the 2005-06 season, teams were generating on average around $20 million in cash flow after player costs but before other expenses; the average is now more than $100 million.

Club revenues have benefited from the introduction of helmet sponsorships in 2020 and jersey patches two years later. Last season, the NHL launched its new digitally enhanced dasherboards, and revenue topped $50 million, which exceeded the league’s original Year 3 projections, according to someone familiar with the forecasts. Another revenue bump last season came from the concerts and event business, which hit record numbers in many cities, as fans embraced live events.