The Average NFL Franchise Is Now Worth $4.14 Billion

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Hey Friends,

Sportico released its annual National Football League (NFL) franchise valuations yesterday, and the trend remains clear: NFL owners are only getting richer.

The Dallas Cowboys lead the way with a $7.64 billion valuation (+10% YoY), and the average NFL franchise is now worth $4.14 billion — that’s up 18% from 2021.

And now that Sportico has been doing this for a few years, we also have valuation data for all the other major US leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS). Here are the top ten:

And here’s a look at where all US sports franchise valuations currently sit — you can use this link to quickly find a specific team in the rankings.

But let’s get back to the NFL rankings because a few things stood out.

First, the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable team in the NFL, and that shouldn’t be all that surprising. Sure, they haven’t won a Super Bowl this century, and they have only won three playoff games in the last 25 years. But still, we all know that winning barely matters when it comes to team valuations these days (think: New York Knicks).

Instead, look at the business that the Dallas Cowboys have built. They have a massive real estate arm that includes a 91-acre campus in Frisco, Texas. They started Legends Hospitality alongside the New York Yankees to not only maximize the profit they made through their stadium accommodations but also profit from the need of their league counterparts to do the same. And that’s without even mentioning their merchandising business, which is owned by the team and the largest in the NFL.

So the point is, if you haven’t already started thinking about professional sports teams as entertainment properties rather than assets that solely derive their value from wins & losses on the stat sheet, the Dallas Cowboys are a perfect example of the value that can be achieved by expanding your business beyond just the field or court.

Secondly, the NFL is on fire right now. For example, the average NFL franchise valuation jumped 18% from 2021, compared to 9% for the NBA and just 5% for MLB.

Average NFL Franchise Valuation

• 2020: $3.09 billion

• 2021: $3.51 billion (+13.6%)

• 2022: $4.14 billion (+17.9%)

That means the average NFL franchise has appreciated nearly 34% over the last two years alone, compared to about 22% for the S&P 500, and it doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. Of course, some of this is because the NFL recently signed new TV deals that will pay more than $110 billion over the next decade—each NFL team will now receive $350 million-plus annually from the NFL for its share of the national revenue pie—but there is also a severe scarcity factor at play here.

For example, the Denver Broncos were recently sold to Rob Walton (aka Walmart) for $4.65 billion. That represents an enterprise value that is roughly 9x their 2021 revenue, which is significantly higher than the 6x revenue multiple that the Carolina Panthers sold for in 2018. That multiple expansion places a premium on tailwinds like sports betting and streaming, but you have to assume the fact that there are only 32 teams and that only three have changed hands in 10 years also adds some additional value.

And lastly, although this is excellent news for NFL owners, the interesting part will be seeing what happens with NBA valuations after they sign their next media rights deal.

The average NBA team is now worth $2.6 billion, but the league is reportedly seeking $75 billion on its next media rights deal (up from $24 billion), and I think they will probably get it. So the real question becomes, how much higher can NBA valuations go? And for that answer, just look at what happened to average team valuations after the last time the NBA announced a new media rights agreement.

I hope everyone has a great day. We’ll talk tomorrow.

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