Billionaire Jerry Jones has two jobs at the Dallas Cowboys: owner and general manager.
And although he has had difficulties in his role as second, his success as first is unquestionable.
For the ninth consecutive year, America’s Team leads the Forbes list of the 50 most valuable sports franchises with a record valuation of $10.1 billion, a 12.1 percent jump from 2023 and $9.96 billion more than what Jones bought the team in 1989.
Of course, this will do nothing to change the team’s current fortunes. Dallas is just 5-8 and Cowboys fans are calling for Jones to resign as general manager, for Mike McCarthy to be fired as head coach and for the roster to be significantly overhauled.
Despite all these problems, the five-time Super Bowl champions are valued at $1.3 billion more than the next closest team on Forbes’ list, the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, who came in with an estimated $8.8 billion. ranked number 2 overall.
Interestingly, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs rank 39th with $4.85 billion. Andy Reid’s team currently plays in a 52-year-old stadium and does so in the 34th largest media market in the country.
Jerry Jones is undeniably successful as an owner, but he has struggled as the Cowboys’ general manager.
Patrick Mahomes and the two-time defending Super Bowl champions also made the top 50
The NBA is currently battling Nielsen ratings issues in the regular season, but that hasn’t stopped the league’s teams from increasing their value, thanks to a new media deal. NBA teams are now worth an estimated average of $4.4 billion, a 15 percent increase from last year and a whopping 596 percent jump from a decade earlier.
Meanwhile, in Major League Baseball, two teams dropped out of the top 50: the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants. Similarly, Formula One’s two representatives on the Forbes Top 50 list, Mercedes and Ferrari, have fallen off the board.
Forbes is quick to point out that soccer teams still have more global reach than U.S.-based franchises, which benefit from better marketing.
For example, the NBA’s new media deal is worth $76 billion over the next 11 seasons, which equates to $230 million annually per team.
And that’s nothing compared to the NFL’s media deal, which gives clubs $380 million in television revenue each season. In total, there are 125.5 billion dollars until the 2033 season.
By comparison, La Liga’s Atlético Madrid had just $382 million in total revenue last season. That club is now worth $5.1 billion, according to Forbes.
In total, the top 50 teams are worth nearly $300 billion, up 13 percent from last year.
The New York Yankees ranked first among MLB teams with $7.5 billion, while Real Madrid was the top soccer team with $6.6 billion and Manchester United led all EPL teams with 6.5 billion dollars.
No teams from the NHL, WNBA, MLS or Formula One made the top 50.