Dallas Cowboys are America’s most valuable team; Chiefs tied for 21st in NFL
The Dallas Cowboys have been called America’s Team, but they are worth enough to start their own country.
The Cowboys are not only the most valuable sports franchise in the United States, they are the most valuable sports franchise in the world, at a worth of $4 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Dallas heads the list of NFL teams for the ninth consecutive year and is first overall among all sports teams for the first time since 2007. The Cowboys made a record NFL revenue of $620 million last season.
Super Bowl champion New England is second behind Dallas at $3.2 billion, and Washington is third at $2.85 billion. The New York Giants ($2.8 billion) and San Francisco 49ers ($2.7 billion) round out the top five in the NFL.
The Chiefs are 21st at $1.53 billion.
The Buffalo Bills are last on the list at $1.4 billion.
For those keeping score, the five most valuable sports teams in the world are now the Cowboys, Real Madrid ($3.26 billion), Patriots, New York Yankees ($3.2 billion) and Barcelona ($3.16 billion).
2015 NFL franchise values
Team | Current value | 1-yr. value change | Revenue | Operating income |
1. Dallas Cowboys | $4 billion | 25% | $620 million | $270 million |
2. New England Patriots | $3.2B | 23% | $494M | $195M |
3. Washington | $2.85B | 19% | $439M | $124.9M |
4. New York Giants | $2.8B | 33% | $400M | $105.2M |
5. San Francisco 49ers | $2.7B | 69% | $427M | $123.7M |
6. New York Jets | $2.6B | 44% | $383M | $118.4M |
7. Houston Texans | $2.5B | 35% | $383M | $114.6M |
8. Chicago Bears | $2.45B | 44% | $352M | $85.7M |
9. Philadelphia Eagles | $2.4B | 37% | $370M | $88.7M |
10. Green Bay Packers | $1.95B | 42% | $347M | $63.3M |
11. Denver Broncos | $1.94B | 34% | $346M | $65.8M |
12. Baltimore Ravens | $1.93B | 29% | $345M | $59.8M |
13. Pittsburgh Steelers | $1.9B | 41% | $334M | $54M |
14. Indianapolis Colts | $1.88B | 34% | $321M | $90.1M |
15. Seattle Seahawks | $1.87B | 41% | $334M | $43.6M |
16. Miami Dolphins | $1.85B | 42% | $322M | $41.5M |
17. Atlanta Falcons | $1.67B | 48% | $303M | $25.4M |
18. Minnesota Vikings | $1.59B | 38% | $281M | $34.5M |
19. Carolina Panthers | $1.56B | 25% | $325M | $77.8M |
20. Arizona Cardinals | $1.54B | 54% | $308M | $57.2M |
21. Kansas City Chiefs | $1.53B | 39% | $307M | $48.6M |
22. San Diego Chargers | $1.53B | 53% | $304M | $64.8M |
23. New Orleans Saints | $1.52B | 36% | $322M | $70M |
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $1.51B | 23% | $313M | $55.2M |
25. Cleveland Browns | $1.5B | 34% | $313M | $34.7M |
26. Tennessee Titans | $1.49B | 28% | $318M | $50.5M |
27. Jacksonville Jaguars | $1.48B | 53% | $315M | $67M |
28. St. Louis Rams | $1.45B | 56% | $290M | $34M |
29. Cincinnati Bengals | $1.45B | 46% | $296M | $55.5M |
30. Detroit Lions | $1.44B | 50% | $298M | $36.1M |
31. Oakland Raiders | $1.43B | 47% | $285M | $39M |
32. Buffalo Bills | $1.4B | 50% | $296M | $44.2M |
Source: Forbes
This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Dallas Cowboys are America’s most valuable team; Chiefs tied for 21st in NFL."