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The National Football League’s (NFL) Dallas Cowboys have once again finished top of Forbes’ latest franchise valuation rankings, having increased their value by 13 per cent over the past year to US$9 billion.
Confirmed:
- The Cowboys generated US$1.14 billion in revenue and US$504 million in operating income last season, more than any other franchise
- Second-placed New England Patriots valued at US$7 billion
- The Los Angeles Rams (US$6.9 billion), the New York Giants (US$6.8 billion) and the Chicago Bears (US$6.3 billion) complete the top five
- The Tennessee Titans saw the biggest increase to their valuation, which rose 26 per cent to US$4.4 billion
- The Cincinnati Bengals are considered the least-valuable NFL franchise at US$3.5 billion, despite increasing their valuation by 17 per cent from last year
Context:
The average NFL franchise is now estimated to be worth US$5.11 billion, which is a 14 per cent increase on last year. This puts the league significantly clear of other sports leagues, with Forbes noting the aggregate value of NFL teams is now almost as much as the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) combined.
The jump in valuations was partly credited to the record US$6.05 billion sale of the Washington Commanders, as well as increased revenue from the NFL’s broadcast deals, which resulted in the average revenue for each franchise increasing by eight per cent to US$581 million.
Coming next:
With the NFL’s next cycle of broadcast deals to begin this season, expect teams to see their valuations continue to soar going forward.
