On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams speak with Sportico valuations guru Kurt Badenhausen about his latest NFL list.
The Dallas Cowboys remain the most valuable team in the NFL at $12.8 billion, followed by the Los Angeles Rams ($10.4 billion) and the New York Giants ($10.3 billion). The Cincinnati Bengals are the least valuable NFL team at $5.5 billion. All 32 NFL teams rank among the 43 most valuable franchises in North American sports.
As valuations soar, however, the teams become way more complex to buy and sell. That’s because of the NFL’s ownership rules, which are tighter than those in other sports. The NFL requires new control owners put down 30% in cash, carries tighter private equity restrictions, implements a 24-owner cap on ownership group size and has a relatively low debt limit.
The hosts debate whether a team in the upper half of the valuations could sell today if the buyer wasn’t Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk. Will the NFL need to change its rules? And if so, which are the levers it will likely pull first?
They also talk about the overall health of the league, which at $23 billion in annual revenue is the richest sports league in the world. The media money is on stable footing—bolstered by the new ESPN tie-up and an opt-out of its $110 billion in broadcast partnership after the 2029 season. Ticket revenue and sponsorship is also strong.
They close by talking about a pair of breaking news stories from Wednesday. The Pohlad family has opted to retain control of the Minnesota Twins. One of MLB’s longest-tenured owners, the Pohlad family explored potential sale options before opting instead to bring on minority partners.
The Portland Trail Blazers do appear to be on the verge of selling. Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reached to a tentative agreement to buy the NBA from Paul Allen’s estate in a two-part deal that carries a blended average valuation of about $4.25 billion.
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