For the second year in a row, the Washington Redskins hold down the No. 4 spot on Forbes Magazine's top 50 sports franchises. The Redskins are worth an estimated $1.55 billion dollars, which put them behind Manchester United, the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Yankees.

The Redskins generate an annual revenue of $345 million while their average operating income of $77 million over the past five seasons is the highest in the NFL.

Every NFL franchise made the top 50 list, showing the strength of the brand as well as the reason for the possible work stoppage in 2011.

The All-$ teamThe 2010 ranking of the World’s Most Valuable Sports Franchises:1. Manchester United - $1.87 Billion2. Dallas Cowboys - $1.65 Billion3. New York Yankees - $1.6 Billion4. Washington Redskins - $ 1.55 Billion5. New England Patriots - $1.36 Billion6. Real Madrid - $1.35 Billion7. Arsenal - $1.2 Billion8. New York Giants - $1.18 Billion9. New York Jets - $1.17 Billion10. Houston Texans - $1.15 Billion

Tiger Woods maintained the top spot among athletes with winnings and endorsements in excess of $105 million a year followed by Floyd Mayweather, Kobe Bryant, Phil Mickelson and David Beckham.

The top-paid Washington athlete was the Redskins' Albert Haynesworth at No. 25 with $23.7 million.

How powerful can the right team and player be together?

The Lakers, who rank No. 49, combined with the fourth highest-earning athlete in Kobe Bryant, made the Staples Center the most profitable sports venue in the United States.

As we have seen with the Verizon Center in Chinatown — when you combine the Capitals and Wizards along with concerts and special events — it can be the cornerstone to the city.

A large number of the NFL franchises -- like the Saints -- benefit from city- and state-built stadiums.

All locally built stadiums have beneficial leases to the teams as incentive to have a pro franchise in your city. The Redskins' FedEx Field and the Verizon Center -- home to the Caps and Wizards -- were more than 80 percent privately built with some infrastructure costs to local governments.

Jim Williams is a seven-time Emmy Award-winning TV producer, director and writer. Check out his blog, Watch this!