I’ve been following the Sharks since the early 2000s, back when a ticket cost less than dinner and the team still felt like the scrappy underdog of the Bay Area. Fast forward to 2025 and something wild happened this morning — the franchise I watched grow up is suddenly worth $1.55 billion. That’s not pocket change. That’s private-jet-to-every-road-game money.
Yet here’s the part that makes you blink twice: they’re ranked 28th out of 32 teams. So how does a billion-and-a-half-dollar asset still feel like it’s treading water? Let’s unpack this.
The 2025 Valuation Landscape: Where the Sharks Stand
Every year when these lists drop, the hockey world does the same double-take. Toronto, New York, Montreal — the usual suspects dominate the top spots like they have for decades. But scroll down to number 28 and there they are: the San Jose Sharks, quietly sitting on a valuation that would have seemed absurd when Hasso Plattner bought the team for $147 million back in 2002.
That’s the thing about sports franchises in 2025 — the floor has become someone else’s ceiling.
The Sharks gained 11% in value year-over-year. Not earth-shattering compared to some expansion teams, but steady. Reliable. Very Sharks, actually.
Breaking Down the $1.55 Billion Number
When you strip away the emotion, three things drive modern NHL valuations: revenue, market size, and growth potential. The Sharks check some boxes better than others.
- Revenue clocked in at $176 million last season — respectable, but miles from the league leaders
- EBITDA of $17 million shows they’re actually profitable (many teams aren’t)
- Debt sits at just 3% of enterprise value — one of the cleanest balance sheets in hockey
In my experience covering sports business, that last point matters more than people realize. Teams carrying heavy debt get punished in these valuations. The Sharks? They’re basically the kid who pays cash for everything while everyone else maxes out credit cards.
The Silicon Valley Paradox
Here’s what keeps me up at night thinking about this franchise: they’re located in literally the richest region on planet Earth, yet they operate like a mid-market team.
Think about that. The SAP Center sits 40 minutes from companies that literally print money. Apple, Google, Nvidia — all within driving distance. Corporate sponsorship should be falling from the sky.
And yet… something isn’t clicking at full capacity.
The challenge for West Coast teams has always been translating tech wealth into hockey passion.
Part of it is cultural. Silicon Valley runs on startup energy — high risk, high reward, constant pivoting. Hockey? That’s a 82-game grind with a playoff system that sometimes feels random. Different religions entirely.
Attendance Tells the Real Story
The SAP Center holds 17,435 for hockey. Last season they averaged 14,219.
Do the math — that’s 81% capacity. Not terrible. Actually up 4.9% from the previous year, which shows fans are coming back post-COVID. But when you have tech bros dropping $20 million on seed rounds before breakfast, selling out a hockey arena should be easier than this.
I’ve sat in that building for playoff games that felt like religious experiences. The “Sharks Tank” nickname wasn’t marketing hype — it was real. The cowbells, the energy, the way the building shook when Joe Thornton would dangle through three defenders…
That version of Sharks hockey still exists in people’s muscle memory. The question is whether the current product can reawaken it.
Hasso Plattner’s Long Game
Say what you want about the on-ice results (and trust me, plenty has been said), but Plattner’s ownership has been remarkably stable. He bought in 2002, survived the lockout, built one of the most consistent winners of the 2000s and 2010s, and never threatened to move the team.
In sports ownership, that consistency is gold.
His $147 million investment has 10x’d in nominal terms. Adjust for inflation and it’s still an absurd return. The man co-founded SAP — he understands compounding.
The Rebuild Reality Check
Let’s be brutally honest: the Sharks are in year three of a proper teardown. Trading Burns, Meier, Karlsson — those moves hurt. Watching Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith develop is exciting, but excellence takes time.
Valuations don’t wait for rebuilds though. They price in future potential, yes, but mostly current revenue streams. And right now, those streams look… modest.
| Metric | Sharks 2025 | League Average |
| Valuation Rank | 28th | – |
| Year-over-Year Growth | 11% | ~15% |
| Revenue | $176M | $220M+ |
| Attendance % | 81% | 92% |
| Debt Ratio | 3% | 18% |
The debt ratio is the hidden gem here. When the next media rights deal hits (and it’s coming), teams with clean balance sheets will have flexibility others won’t.
What the Future Actually Holds
Two things can be true at once: the Sharks are undervalued relative to their market, and they’re properly valued given current performance.
The young core is legitimately exciting. Celebrini looks like the real deal. Smith, Musty, Dickinson — there’s talent coming. If Mike Grier hits on this rebuild like Yzerman did in Detroit or BriseBois did in Tampa, we’re having a very different conversation in 2030.
Until then, $1.55 billion feels both impressive and somehow underwhelming. That’s the Sharks in 2025 — a billionaire franchise that still feels like it’s figuring itself out.
But maybe that’s the point. In Silicon Valley, they understand better than anywhere else that today’s unicorn can be tomorrow’s also-ran, and vice versa. The Sharks have the ownership, the market, and now the prospect pipeline.
The next five years will tell us whether this $1.55 billion valuation was the floor… or just another step on the way up.
Either way, I’ll be watching from section 118, same as always. Some things are worth more than money.
