The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports franchise in the world, with a valuation of $7.64 billion, according to a new analysis from Sportico.
The Cowboys are worth $630 million more than the next most expensive sports franchise, the New York Yankees.
They also hold a substantial lead over the second most expensive NFL franchise, the Los Angeles Rams, at a $5.91 billion valuation. The Rams are the defending Super Bowl champions who play in the still-brand-new SoFi Stadium.
Behind the Rams are the New England Patriots, at $5.88 billion, and then the New York Giants ($5.73 billion), the San Francisco 49ers ($5.18 billion), and the Chicago Bears ($5 billion).
The average value of an NFL franchise is $4.1 billion, up 18% over last year. The Cincinnati Bengals had the lowest valuation in the league, at $2.84 billion.
The total value of all 32 NFL franchises combined, including team-related businesses and real estate held by owners, is $132 billion, according to the analysis.
The Denver Broncos were recently sold to the Walton-Penner family ownership group for $4.65 billion. The sale will be finalized at the next meeting of owners, and the price is a record paid for a North American sports franchise.
Sixteen NFL franchises have a value of at least $4 billion, according to Sportico, compared to seven in the other North American sports leagues, including four in the NBA and three in MLB.
Sportico determined its valuations based on interviews with more than 30 bankers, lawyers, team executives, owners, consultants, and public documents involved in the sport.
For Dallas, it is not surprising that they are worth a substantial amount of money. The most recent valuation from Forbes had the Cowboys worth around $6.5 billion.
Owner Jerry Jones, who has vowed never to sell the Cowboys, told NBC Sports in May that he would expect the team to sell for more than $10 billion.
The Cowboys’ value has soared under Jones, who purchased the franchise for $150 million in 1989. That’s about $358 million in today’s dollars.
Factoring in inflation, Jones’ return on investment is about 1,934% over 33 years. Not counting inflation, Jones is up 4,993%.
The Cowboys have real estate developments and other businesses that help boost its value. The team started a hospitality company, Legends, with the Yankees, that has partnerships with several NFL teams.
This offseason Dallas became the first NFL team to reach a sponsorship deal with a cryptocurrency company, Blockchain.com.
“Sports may not be for everybody, but for those who do love it, it is real fertile ground,” Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones told Sportico. “Whether it’s a Legends platform, a real estate platform, a technology platform, we’ve seen that you can use The Star, the Cowboys and sports to really enhance business.”
“We’ve obviously done some pretty unique things, but I still think there’s meat on the bone,” Jones said.
