The Dallas Cowboys have one of the most iconic logos in all of professional sports. When you see that giant blue star, whether it's on a hat, shirt, or smack dab in the middle of the field at AT&T Stadium, you instantly recognize it.
Perhaps it's no surprise, then, that the Cowboys are the most valuable team in the entire NFL. The franchise is worth $4.8 billion, an increase of 14 percent from last year. This is the eleventh straight year the Cowboys are the most valuable franchise in the league.
Jerry Jones paid $140 million to buy the Cowboys back in 1989. Accounting for inflation, his return on investment is about 17 times what he put down. Not a bad deal!
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The New England Patriots and New York Giants are the next most valuable teams, at $3.7 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively. The Washington Redskins ($3.1 billion) and San Francisco 49ers ($3.05 billion) round out the top five, proving that you don't need a successful product on the field to have a lucrative franchise.
In fact, simply owning an NFL franchise is a huge boost to an owner's net worth – the average franchise is valued at $2.52 billion. That's about a 129 percent increase from the average franchise value just ten years ago. Every NFL team received $244 million in national revenue last year, largely thanks to television deals. And 29 teams will make $55 million apiece from the relocation fees of the Raiders to Las Vegas and the Rams and Chargers to Los Angeles.
Fresh off a trip to the Super Bowl, increased sponsorship's, and a brand new stadium unveiling, the Atlanta Falcons are now worth $2.475 billion. Their value increased by 16 percent. The New York Jets had the smallest increase, with their $2.75 billion valuation the same as last year.
Additional research on how players are impacted may end up hurting the sport's popularity, but for now, football is still going strong.
