Sports
Ranked: The Most Valuable NFL Teams in 2022
Article/Editing:
Ranked: The Most Valuable NFL Teams in 2022
The world’s most valuable sports teams include internationally beloved soccer clubs, massive NBA franchises, and renowned MLB teams. But, it’s the National Football League (NFL) that has arguably the most valuable teams in the world.
In June 2022, the Denver Broncos sold for $4.65 billion, a record for the most expensive team purchase. But if other teams were to sell, they’d potentially command an even greater price tag.
Which teams, and conferences, reign supreme in value? This graphic by Truman Du uses data from Forbes last calculated in August 2022 to show the most valuable NFL teams.
NFL Teams by Value
To calculate team values, Forbes used enterprise values (total team equity plus net debt) and factored in each team’s stadium-related revenue. This includes non-NFL revenue that accrues to each team’s owner, but doesn’t account for the stadium’s real estate value.
The findings? NFL teams continue to become more valuable, rising in 2022 to an average of $4.47 billion, an increase of 28% year-over-year.
| Rank | NFL Team | Value (Aug 2022) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys | $8.00B |
| 2 | New England Patriots | $6.40B |
| 3 | Los Angeles Rams | $6.20B |
| 4 | New York Giants | $6.00B |
| 5 | Chicago Bears | $5.80B |
| 6 | Washington Commanders | $5.60B |
| 7 | New York Jets | $5.40B |
| 8 | San Francisco 49ers | $5.20B |
| 9 | Las Vegas Raiders | $5.10B |
| 10 | Philadelphia Eagles | $4.90B |
| 11 | Houston Texans | $4.70B |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | $4.65B |
| 13 | Miami Dolphins | $4.60B |
| 14 | Seattle Seahawks | $4.50B |
| 15 | Green Bay Packers | $4.25B |
| 16 | Atlanta Falcons | $4.00B |
| 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | $3.98B |
| 18 | Minnesota Vikings | $3.93B |
| 19 | Baltimore Ravens | $3.90B |
| 20 | Los Angeles Chargers | $3.88B |
| 21 | Cleveland Browns | $3.85B |
| 22 | Indianapolis Colts | $3.80B |
| 23 | Kansas City Chiefs | $3.70B |
| 24 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $3.68B |
| 25 | Carolina Panthers | $3.60B |
| 26 | New Orleans Saints | $3.58B |
| 27 | Tennessee Titans | $3.50B |
| 28 | Jacksonville Jaguars | $3.48B |
| 29 | Buffalo Bills | $3.40B |
| 30 | Arizona Cardinals | $3.27B |
| 31 | Detroit Lions | $3.05B |
| 32 | Cincinnati Bengals | $3.00B |
At the top of the rankings, the Dallas Cowboys sit at an estimated valuation of $8 billion, making them the most valuable sports team in the world.
They were the first team to generate over $1 billion in annual revenue thanks to massive sponsorship deals, including an estimated $220 million in stadium advertising and sponsorship revenue.
This is especially impressive, since NFL teams actually share just over 70% of football-related revenue. As Forbes points out, the Cowboys have been the most successful at capitalizing on stadium and branding in order to boost external revenues.
Most Valuable NFL Teams by Conference
Truman also broke down NFL team valuations by conference, highlighting the extra monetary weight one has over the other.
The National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC) were formed in 1970 after the NFL merged with the rival American Football League. Over time and as the league has expanded, the conferences have shifted and realigned to end up at 4 divisions of 4 teams for 16 teams each as of 2022.
Impressively, NFC teams had an average valuation about $500 million higher than the AFC. It also had five of the six most valuable teams, with just the #2 New England Patriots representing the AFC at the top.
But with the most recent record sale taking place in the AFC (Denver Broncos), and more potential high-profile relocations and sales in the wings, the landscape of NFL team values might shift yet again in the near future.
This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Misc
Ranked: The World’s Largest Stadiums
The U.S. is known for its massive arenas, but in a top 10 ranking of the world’s largest stadiums, two other countries take the lead.
Ranking The World’s Largest Stadiums
From football games to live concerts, stadiums serve as a gathering place for some of life’s most exciting moments.
While some stadiums are famous for their history, others are truly massive in size, capable of seating over 100,000 people at once. In this graphic, we’ve ranked the 10 largest stadiums in the world by seating capacity, with Madison Square Garden included as a reference point.
Data and Highlights
As shown in the graphic above, the world’s largest stadium belongs to India. Named after the country’s Prime Minister, the Narendra Modi Stadium was designed to host cricket games.
See below for the full list in tabular format.
| Rank | Stadium | Country | City | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narendra Modi Stadium | 🇮🇳 India | Ahmedabad | 132,000 |
| 2 | Rungrado 1st of May Stadium | 🇰🇵 North Korea | Pyongyang | 114,000 |
| 3 | Michigan Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | Ann Arbor, MI | 107,601 |
| 4 | Beaver Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | State College, PA | 106,572 |
| 5 | Ohio Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | Columbus, OH | 102,780 |
| 6 | Kyle Field | 🇺🇸 US | College Station, TX | 102,733 |
| 7 | Neyland Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | Knoxville, TN | 102,455 |
| 8 | Tiger Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | Baton Rouge, LA | 102,321 |
| 9 | Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | Austin, TX | 100,119 |
| 10 | Bryant-Denny Stadium | 🇺🇸 US | Tuscaloosa, AL | 100,077 |
The number two spot is held by Rungrado 1st of May Stadium, which is surprisingly located in North Korea. It was completed in 1989 with the purpose of hosting the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students, and is now used to host various government events.
It’s interesting to note that this arena initially had a higher capacity of 150,000 people, but was reduced to 114,000 after renovations in 2014.
Looking further down the list, the third to tenth largest stadiums belong to the United States. All of these arenas are primarily used for college football, serving as the home field for their respective university team.
A shocking fact is that these arenas are significantly larger than NFL stadiums. For example, the largest NFL stadium is MetLife Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 82,500.
The Runner-Ups
While just three countries are represented in the top 10 list, there is plenty of geographical diversity once we look a little further down. Shown below are the 11th to 14th largest stadiums in the world.
Camp Nou and FNB Stadium are two historic soccer stadiums which have both hosted a FIFA World Cup tournament. Camp Nou is owned by FC Barcelona, the world’s third most valuable soccer club.
New Administrative Capital Stadium is expected to replace the Cairo International Stadium as Egypt’s new national arena, and could be used to host the Olympics or a FIFA World Cup in the future if called upon.
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