America’s (Money) Team: Cowboys First To Be Worth $8 Billion
The Dallas Cowboys dynasty carries on for yet another season.
Alas for fans of America's Team, there's no trophy for finishing at the top of these standings but owner Jerry Jones is no doubt satisfied by the fact that the Cowboys are the NFL's most valuable franchise for the 14th consecutive year, as ranked by Forbes. According to the business magazine's calculations, Dallas' value is up 23 percent from last year's list (becoming the first NFL team to generate over $1 billion in revenue in a single year) and the team also becomes the NFL's first to be assessed at $8 billion. The Cowboys are also said to be the most valuable squad in all of professional sports.
Dallas' additional windfall, Forbes explains, partly stems from their decade-long re-upping with Molson Coors, whose Miller and Coors products are sold at AT&T Stadium. That new deal includes the opening of the Miller LiteHouse, a game-day experience at AT&T Stadium open during the pregame and postgame. The party zone is said to feature "the biggest walk-in beer cooler in the state of Texas" and a 70-yard turf football field. Forbes also reported that Dallas hauled in an additional $220 million in stadium advertising and sponsorship revenue, more than double their closest competition.
Alas for the Cowboys, their big paydays have yet to translate to topping the NFL's more traditional standings. The team has not advanced past the Divisional round since the 1996 season and their 12-win campaign last year ended in heartbreaking fashion against San Francisco in the NFC Wild Card round. Entering the new year, Dallas will look to secure consecutive NFC East division titles for the first time since a five-year stretch between 1992 and 1996.
The New England Patriots ($6.4 billion) appear in the runner-up spot behind the Cowboys and the defending champion Los Angeles Rams ($6.2 billion) round out the top three.
