The Dallas Cowboys landed at the top spot of Forbes 2015's Most Valuable Franchise in the NFL, with the team was valued at an estimated $4 billion.
This is the ninth consecutive year that the Cowboys nabbed the top spot on Forbes annual list, states CBS Sports. Aside from holding the record for nine years, the Cowboy's estimated worth this year is reportedly the first time that a national football team has crossed the $4 billion mark. The return on investment must be "nice" for Jerry Jones, who bought the team in 1989 for $140 million, states the sports news site.
According to Forbes, the Dallas Cowboys earned a total revenue of $620 million in 2014 alone. This reportedly is a record breaking revenue for a U.S. sports team. Aside from generating millions in total revenue, the Cowboys also garnered 90,000 average attendance in the NFL and gained $120 million in premium seating revenue. The NFL team even generated $30 million revenue from non-NFL events held in the team's AT&T Stadium.
Other NFL teams which landed in Forbes' top five most valuable franchise included the New England Patriots with $3.2 billion and with a 2014 revenue of $494 million. The Washington Redskins nabbed the third spot with a team value of $2.85 billion and a $439 million revenue. On the 4th and 5th spots are the New York Giants and the San Francisco 49ers, with team values of $2.8 billion and $2.7 billion respectively. The Giants generated a revenue of $400 million last year, while the 49ers earned $427 million.
The Forbes report also mentioned that, on average, an NFL team is now worth $1.97 billion which is 38 percent higher than previous year. The gain reportedly can be attributed to the $39 million increase in national revenue for each of the 32 NFL teams.
Meanwhile, the Cowboy's $4 billion team value has pushed the NFL team to the number one spot of the most valuable sports teams in the world, states Forbes. Other sports team in the top five list includes FC Real Madrid with $3.26 billion, the Patriots and the New York Yankees with $3.2 billion each and FC Barcelona with $3.16 billion.
