Cowboys top Forbes most valuable NFL teams list
The Cowboys are valued at $4 billion, a 25 percent jump from last year.
REUTERS - The NFL s Dallas Cowboys are the world s most valuable sports franchise, according to a Forbes poll released on Monday that said new broadcasting deals helped boost the league s average team value by 38 percent from last year.
The Cowboys, who unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid as the world s richest team, are valued at $4 billion, a 25 percent jump from last year, and remain the NFL s most valuable team for a ninth consecutive year, Forbes said in a statement.
Rounding out the NFL s top five are the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots ($3.2 billion), Washington Redskins ($2.85 billion), New York Giants ($2.8 billion) and San Francisco 49ers ($2.7 billion).
The average NFL team is now worth $2 billion, the highest value in the 18 years Forbes has been tracking professional football team values.
Forbes attributed the gain to a $39 million jump in national revenue for each of the NFL s 32 teams, the bulk of which came from the start of the league s new broadcasting deals.
According to Forbes, what the most valuable teams on the list have in common is a presence in large markets and stadiums which provide them with more premium seating and sponsorship revenue than other teams generate.
The 49ers posted a 69 percent jump in value that Forbes said was the largest one-year increase of any NFL team. The rise was credited largely to the team s relocation in 2014 into revenue-rich Levi s Stadium, which will host Super Bowl 50 in February.
The 10 most valuable NFL teams (in billions):
1. Dallas Cowboys - $4.0
2. New England Patriots - $3.2
3. Washington Redskins - $2.85
4. New York Giants - $2.8
5. San Francisco 49ers - $2.7
6. New York Jets - $2.6
7. Houston Texans - $2.5
8. Chicago Bears - $2.45
9. Philadelphia Eagles - $2.4
10. Green Bay Packers - $1.95
