DALLAS — The Cowboys saw their valuation rise yet again as it held the No. 1 ranking in the National Football League. The Dallas team has an enterprise value of $6.5 billion, according to a new report in Forbes. That’s up $800 million from a year ago as the value for the 32 teams climbed on average.
The New England Patriots came in at No. 2 with a valuation of $5 billion while the New York Giants grabbed the No. 3 spot at $4.85 billion.
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The Dallas Cowboys are racking up dollars as they continue to be a popular team that commands attention. Not only is it the No. 1 team in the NFL, but earlier this year, based on the $5.7 billion tag, it was named the most valuable sports franchise in the world.
The teams had operating income — described as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization higher in the report — of $280.4 million, according to Forbes. That compares to $142.4 million for the Patriots and negative $12.5 million for the Giants. No other team made more than $100 million.
The value of the average team was up 14 percent to $3.48 billion. That’s the biggest increase in a half-decade and came as the league signed an ESPN media rights deal.
The Cowboys generate the most revenue at $800 million, helped by over $200 million in combined sponsorship and advertising revenue.
Jerry Jones made a splash when he entered the league’s ownership circle more than 30 years ago. The price of the team in 1989 was $150 million, meaning its’s increased more than 40-fold.
The lowest valued team on the list was a playoff team in the Buffalo Bills. It came in at $2.27 billion. Others at the bottom of the list include the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions.