AP Photo/Roger SteinmanThe Dallas Cowboys have been named the NFL's most valuable franchise for the 15th consecutive year.Forbes's Mike Ozanian & Christina Settimi report that the Cowboys' $6.5 Billion in total value represents a 14 percent increase over last year. They are significantly ahead of the No. They are the No. 2 team (New England Patriots, $5 Billion).The top five most valuable NFL teams are the New York Giants (at 4.85 billion), Los Angeles Rams (at 4.8 billion), and Washington Football Team (at 4.2 billion).The average team value is $3.48 trillion. Ozanian noted that the 14 percent increase in value from 2020 was the biggest gain in five years.Ozanian, Settimi claim that the increase in value was due to teams having their operating income drop from $109 million in 2019 down to $7.1 million in 2018.Only two teams had an operating income below $100 million: the Patriots ($142.4million) and Cowboys ($280.4million).Twenty-two of 32 league franchises had negative operating incomes, with the Los Angeles Chargers (-$48.7 millions) and San Francisco 49ers (45.4 million).Television contracts are one of the main reasons why NFL franchises continue to be incredibly valuable and make a lot of money.According to Daniel Kaplan, The Athletic, the league earned $9.89 billion in sponsorship and television contracts in 2020.This number is expected to rise after the NFL signed TV deals worth $105 billion with Fox, CBS, ESPN/ABC and Fox over 11 years, 2023-2033.The difference between the Cowboys' and other NFL franchises is substantial. Their $1.5 billion advantage over the Patriots at No. 2. This is the same gap as between New England (No. 1) and Seattle Seahawks (No. 2) 12 ($3.5 billion).The NFL's least valued franchise is the Buffalo Bills, which despite reaching the AFC Championship Game last year, at $2.27 Billion.The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the two teams that met in Super Bowl LV) rank 21st and 22nd respectively in franchise value.
