The Average Value of an NFL Team Is Up 24% From Last Year

Despite starting quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Deshaun Watson riding the pine for last Thursday night’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, the early preseason broadcast drew 6.3 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and NBC Sports Digital. That made it the most-watched HOF Game since 2018 and the league’s most-watched postseason contest in five years, per Front Office Sports. The telecast of the meaningless 21-16 win for the Browns over the Jets was also watched by more viewers on average than the NBA playoffs, which averaged 5.47 million viewers per broadcast across ABC, ESPN, and TNT. Football, once again, is king.

That’s why it should probably not come as a shock that the 32 teams that play in America’s favorite league are worth more than they ever have been before. How much more? According to Sportico, the average NFL franchise is worth $5.14 billion, a 24% increase from last year, while the league’s 32 franchises are collectively worth $165 billion.

As has been the case for years, the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable NFL franchise ($9.2 billion), followed by the New York Giants ($7.04 billion), Los Angeles Rams ($6.98 billion), New England Patriots ($6.7 billion) and San Francisco 49ers ($6.15 billion.)

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One of the biggest reasons why NFL teams increase in value annually is that it is nearly impossible for them to lose money and their profits are humungous. To put it in perspective, Manchester City of the English Premier League was the EPL’s top earner during the 2021-22 season with a $59 million profit. Every NFL team made more than that last season with the Cowboys taking in an estimated $460 million before taxes.

“The NFL is viewed as the gold standard in the way it is managed, for its finances, and for its future,” Marc Ganis, an NFL consultant to multiple teams, told Sportico. “There’s an argument to be made that the valuations, as high as they are, are actually modest.”

And as high as those valuations are, the NFL does not want them to decrease by a nickel by losing revenue to illegal wagering. That’s why the league is now pushing lawmakers to focus more on illegal betting so fans who want to gamble on pro football will have no choice other than to bet through one of the NFL’s legal partners.

“We believe that additional attention and resources are needed from lawmakers and law enforcement to address the illicit sports betting market, which still has the power of incumbency,” Jonathan Nabavi, NFL vice president of public policy and government affairs, wrote in a memo to Congress, according to FOS.