It has been evident for several decades now that it is the NFL’s world and everyone is just living in it.
The league dominates the TV ratings, with 72 of the most-watched events in 2024, and Super Bowl
LIX averaged 127.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched TV show ever.
Because the league delivers consistent ratings, it was able to sign an 11-year $111 billion media rights deal in 2021, which helped each of the league’s 32 teams cash a $432.6 million check in 2024.
Basically, if you are an NFL owner and you are not named Art Modell, you essentially have a license to print money.
That is why it is not surprising to see NFL teams dominate Forbes’ annual list of the world’s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams for 2025. The teams on the list are worth a combined total of $353 billion, an increase of 22 percent from 2024, with the Dallas Cowboys sitting at No. 1 with an estimated value of $13 billion.
Thirty of the league’s 32 teams made the list, with only the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals missing out, and in an affirmation that losing does not impact the bottom line, the Cleveland Browns are at No. 28 with an estimated value of $6.4 billion.
That figure represents a 24 percent year-to-year increase, according to Forbes, and puts the Browns ahead of more successful teams like the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 32), Baltimore Ravens (No. 33), Mercedes’ Formula 1 team (No. 34), La Liga’s Barcelona (No. 42), and the Premier League’s Liverpool (No. 48).
Since Jimmy and Dee Haslam purchased the Browns in 2012, the team has gone 76-150-1, made the playoffs twice, and posted the league’s second 0-16 season.
Yet they are still one of the most valuable franchises not just in the NFL, but in the entire world! And once the domed stadium and entertainment complex opens in Brook Park for the 2029 season, the franchise’s value should see another nice financial bump.
Now more than ever, it pays to be an NFL owner.
