The Dallas Cowboys still leading on top, financially.
For fourteen years straight, Jerry Jones’ club topped Forbes’ annual NFL team rating list, becoming the first club in the league to surpass his $8 billion mark. Incredibly, the Cowboys’ worth increased him by 23% year-over-year.
But that’s not the only good news for Jerry World. The Dallas Cowboys also made him the first team to reach $1 billion in annual revenue, largely thanks to a string of new sponsorships, Forbes reports. According to reports, the Dallas Cowboys made him $220 million in stadium advertising and sponsorship revenue at AT&T Stadium, which is more than double that of other clubs.
That valuation comes nearly 40 years after former President Donald Trump (than a real estate mogul) nearly wiped out the club for just $50 million. The future commander-in-chief told The New York Times in 1984 that he preferred to buy the USFL’s fledgling New Jersey Generals for $10 million.
Donald Trump in this regard
“I could have bought an NFL team,” Trump said to Ira Berkow. “There were three or four that still are available, including, of course, the Dallas Cowboys.”
“I could have bought an NFL club for $40 million or $50 million, but it’s established and you would just see it move laterally,” added Trump. “Not enough to create there.”
At the time, Trump offered condolences to the unfortunate investor who would eventually become the Cowboys.
“I feel sorry for the poor guy who is going to buy the Dallas Cowboys. It’s a no-win situation for him, because if he wins, well, so what, they’ve won through the year, and if he loses, which seems likely because they’re having troubles, he’ll be known to the world as a loser.”
The original USFL closed in 1986. Then came the disastrous switch from spring football to fall football at the request of President Trump. No competing league could ultimately match the NFL.
Jones, meanwhile, bought the ill-fated Cowboys in 1989 for just $140 million, and quickly began restoring the franchise back to its 1970s glory days. The team won three Super Bowls in his 1990s.
The Dallas Cowboy’s Past Hardships
Oddly enough, they’ve been struggling for the past 14 years. During that time, Forbes topped his team’s rating rankings, and in the process, he won only one game in the playoffs.
The New England Patriots followed with $6.4 billion, followed by the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams with $6.2 billion.
Interestingly, the Rams’ opponent in February’s Super Bowl LVI, the Cincinnati Bengals, had the lowest $3 billion among the 32 NFL teams. The team recently signed a new deal for the naming rights to the former Paul Brown stadium, but owner Mike Brown (Paul’s son) faces one of his smaller markets within the league.
Overall, the worth of an average NFL team is $4.47 billion, up 28% from the 2021 rankings.
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