Outside of selling water bottles in California or investing in Draft Kings (anybody seen a Draft Kings ad recently? I think it's been 10 minutes so I've last seen one) there may not be a safer place to put your money than in an NFL franchise.
According to the latest franchise valuation released by Forbes Monday, the Dallas Cowboys are now the most valuable sports franchise on the planet at $4 billion, edging Spanish soccer titan Real Madrid. The magazine says the Cowboys did $620 million in revenue and $270 million in profit (ahem, operating income) last year. Remember, the NFL distributed $226.4 million per team in TV money this year, and this season's salary cap is just below $143.3 million. That's an $83.1 million head start in covering the rest of each franchise's expenses before a single sponsorship, suite, ticket or $8 bucket of popcorn is sold.
Anyway, the Cowboys lead the league with a $4 billion valuation. Jerry Jones bought the club in 1989 for $140 million. Even adjusting for inflation that would take the price tag up to $270 million in today's dollars, his investment has grown almost 15 times over in the last 26 years.
The full list:
1. Dallas Cowboys - $4 billion
2. New England Patriots - $3.2 billion
3. Washington Redskins - $2.85 billion
4. New York Giants - $2.8 billion
5. San Francisco 49ers - $2.7 billion
6. New York Jets - $2.6 billion
7. Houston Texans - $2.5 billion
8. Chicago Bears - $2.45 billion
9. Philadelphia Eagles - $2.4 billion
10. Green Bay Packers - $1.95 billion
11. Denver Broncos - $1.94 billion
12. Baltimore Ravens - $1.93 billion
13. Pittsburgh Steelers - $1.9 billion
14. Indianapolis Colts - $1.88 billion
15. Seattle Seahawks - $1.87 billion
16. Miami Dolphins - $1.85 billion
17. Atlanta Falcons - $1.67 billion
18. Minnesota Vikings - $1.59 billion
19. Carolina Panthers - $1.56 billion
20. Arizona Cardinals - $1.54 billion
21. Kansas City Chiefs - $1.53 billion
22. San Diego Chargers - $1.53 billion
23. New Orleans Saints - $1.52 billion
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - $1.51 billion
25. Cleveland Browns - $1.5 billion
26. Tennessee Titans - $1.49 billion
27. Jacksonville Jaguars - $1.48 billion
28. St. Louis Rams - $1.45 billion
29. Cincinnati Bengals - $1.45 billion
30. Detroit Lions - $1.44 billion
31. Oakland Raiders - $1.43 billion
32. Buffalo Bills - $1.4 billion
Keep in mind the Milwaukee Bucks were sold last year for $550 million, less than half of the price of the least valuable NFL franchise, and less than the difference between the Patriots and the Cowboys.