They don’t call the Cowboys ‘America’s Team’ for nothing.
The Cowboys’ $6.92 billion valuation ranked first among professional sports franchises across the United States, according to a report from Sportico.
The Dallas football market is so good, Mayor Eric Johnson even made public speculation on whether the city could successfully host a second NFL team. Jerry Jones didn’t waste time ending those rumors, as he has veto power on any new franchises that want to call the Dallas-area home.
The Cowboys edged out the second-place New York Yankees by $630 million. Here’s how the rest of the top 10 franchises shook out:
- Dallas Cowboys: $6.92 billion
- New York Yankees: $6.75 billion
- New York Knicks: $5.42 billion
- New England Patriots: $5.35 billion
- Golden State Warriors: $5.21 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $5.14 billion
- Boston Red Sox: $4.8 billion
- Los Angeles Rams: $4.68 billion
- New York Giants: $4.63 billion
- Los Angeles Dodgers: $4.62 billion
Football remains king in the United States
The full ranking of the most valuable U.S. sports franchises is dominated by the NFL. All 32 teams are listed in the top 50.
For reference, the Cincinnati Bengals are the NFL’s least-valuable franchise, sitting at $2.4 billion. But the Bengals are still 20% more valuable than the Toronto Maple Leafs, who lead the NHL with a $2 billion valuation.
Each NFL team made $309 million before the 2021 regular season even kicked off, thanks to media rights and sponsorships. In 2023, that shared revenue will jump to $400 million per franchise. Add in the markups on game tickets, parking and beer when fans attend games, and team owners are sitting on a gold mine.
How did the Cowboys become the most valuable team?
There’s a list of reasons why the Cowboys landed the top spot in the rankings. The first is that Dallas is the ninth-largest city by population in the United States. You may have noticed that six of the top 10 teams are from New York or Los Angeles, the two biggest cities in the United States. It’s all about location.
Second, the Cowboys have one of the newest and largest stadiums in the NFL. But a big, fancy stadium is worthless without fans to fill it, and Cowboys fans certainly do so. Dallas led the NFL in home attendance, averaging 93,421 fans per game at AT&T Stadium. That’s over 15,000 more fans than the second place Green Bay Packers. The Cowboys have led the league in attendance each season dating back to 2009.
Lastly, it’s hard to quantify football meaning more in the Lone Star state, but it just does. The TV show Friday Night Lights might’ve been too dramatic for some people, but the obsessive high school football scenes in small Texas towns portrayed in the show are very real. Just check out the stadium for Prosper High School, located about 40 miles north of Dallas.
Cowboys fans should be proud of the team being named the most valuable franchise in the U.S. Now imagine how much further the team’s ranking would be cemented if they could bring home the Lombardi Trophy?
