The most valuable team in the NFL is $11 billion

Jones said that when Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys in 1989 for $150 million, the team was losing $1 million a month.

At the time, Texas Stadium had a lot of empty seats and suites: the oilmen had borrowed all the money they could to buy the Cowboys, so they needed to act fast, on and off the field, to get the team back in the black.

And he did.

Now, 35 years later, the Cowboys are worth a staggering $11 billion, $3 billion more than any other team in the National Football League, according to official NFL team valuations for 2024 published Thursday by CNBC.

The Cowboys are expected to make $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023, nearly $400 million more than the Los Angeles Rams, the second-highest earner in the league, according to CNBC’s rankings. The Cowboys are the NFL’s most profitable team, with EBITDA of $550 million last season, $300 million more than the New England Patriots, the NFL’s second-highest earning team, according to CNBC’s list.

On his path to profitability, Jones made a series of bold moves that set new standards for league ownership and delivered an enormous return on his investment.

Jones took over in 1989 and quickly fired legendary coach Tom Landry and hired his former Arkansas football teammate Jimmy Johnson. In 1989, Jones traded his best player, Herschel Walker, and the Cowboys received four players and several draft picks that would go on to acquire players like Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson.

By 1992, the Cowboys had won the Super Bowl. The team won again in 1993 and 1995, then coached by Barry Switzer.

The Cowboys are one of the most popular teams for betting. DraftKings DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins told CNBC on Thursday that the platform cannot accept bets in the state, even though Texas does not yet allow sports betting.

Jones was also an immediate innovator off the field. While revenue from NFL sponsorship deals is split equally among the teams, Jones knew he could keep all of the stadium sponsorship money for himself. In 1995, Jones became the first NFL owner to sign his own sponsorship deal at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys’ former home.

He targeted brands such as: American Express and Pepsi They decided to become stadium sponsors — rivals at the time. visa and coca cola He signed a contract with the NFL. NikeThe company did not have a contract with NFL Properties, the NFL’s licensing arm. In 1995, Jones signed a 10-year, $40 million contract with Pepsi-Cola and a 10-year contract with Nike making $2.5 million per year.

Sponsorship deals have been a big boon for the Cowboys, who could make as much as $250 million this year, at least $50 million more than any other team, according to a person familiar with the team’s finances.

The value of the Cowboys’ sponsorship deals has increased over the years. The Cowboys moved into a new stadium in 2009. In 2013, the building was remodeled. AT&T The stadium became a focal point for Jones when he signed a long-term contract worth roughly $20 million per year. By 2021, Jones had announced a 10-year, $200 million contract extension. Molson Coors.

The city of Arlington owns AT&T Stadium, but Jones owns the operating rights, meaning he receives revenue from events. The more crowded the stadium is, the more he makes. Jones also has the right to buy AT&T Stadium for just $10 at any time until the Cowboys’ lease expires in 2039, according to a person familiar with the team’s deal with the city.

Although the Cowboys haven’t been to the Super Bowl in 29 years, they are a regular in the playoffs every year and their seats and suites are almost always full.

Even outside of football, the stadium is rarely empty. This year, Jones is hosting Monster Jam, a pro boxing match with Mike Tyson, the Big 12 College Football Championships, high school football and the Professional Bull Riders. As with the stadium sponsorship, Jones does not have to share any of this money with the league’s 31 other owners.

Jones, who also serves as general manager of the Cowboys, has been criticized for not going to a Super Bowl since 1995, but there’s no denying that he created the financial blueprint for NFL teams. The Cowboys’ $11 billion worth is now 73 times what it cost Jones to buy the team, but only 18 times what it was in the 2000s. S&P 500 During the same period.