Dallas Cowboys, Most Valuable Sports Franchise, Is Worth $4 Billion

The Dallas Cowboys dominate as the NFL’s most valuable team on a new Forbes list published on Monday, which put the team's worth at $4 billion, more than $800 million ahead of its nearest competitor.

According to the Forbes list written by Mike Ozanian, the Cowboys trumped the New England Patriots' $3.2 billion, the Washington Redskins' $2.85 billion, and the New York Giants' $2.8 billion.

Jerry Jones made a smart investment when he bought the Cowboys franchise in 1989 for $140 million, which, after being factored for inflation, has now jumped 1,382 percent in value, according to ESPN.

The Cowboys are the first sports team franchise ever to reach $4 billion in worth, according to CNN Money, and the NFL itself has seen its teams average a $2 billion worth, which is a 38-percent increase from last year. As the NFL has continued to amass enormous profits with its $12 billion revenue last season, television broadcasts raked in $900 million for the NFL last season while new stadiums were constructed and sponsors brought in a record $1.15 billion.

The Cowboys’ $4 billion value showed a 25-percent increase over the team’s value from last year, according to CNN Money. Meanwhile, the team’s AT&T Stadium has become one of the U.S. sports world’s most marketable venues, according to Bleacher Report.

“The Dallas Cowboys have not been to the Super Bowl in 20 years but the shrewd marketing of owner Jerry Jones and a gold mine called AT&T Stadium have kept the team atop the NFL’s financial ledger,” noted Ozanian when he published the Forbes list on Monday. “Style and business acumen can count much more than winning.”

Amongst other sporting franchises, the Cowboys topped other contenders with Real Madrid at $3.26 billion, both the Patriots and the New York Yankees at $3.2 billion, and FC Barcelona at $3.16 billion, according to ESPN.

The least valuable NFL franchise proved to be the Buffalo Bills at $1.4 billion, even though this value showed a 50-percent upwards jump from last year, according to CNN Money.

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