With the football season at its peak, sports fans cannot get enough NFL content, and the league is more than happy to grant its loyal followers’ wishes by providing them with nonstop NFL games and events.
The National Football League (NFL) is the most lucrative sports league in the world, with an aggregated value of approximately $163 billion and an estimated annual revenue of over $20 billion.
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The football league is a for-profit trade association that distributes revenue among its 32 teams. However, the teams are not equally valued because various factors affect their valuation, including stadium ownership, sponsorships, and in-house merchandise.
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Previously, the NFL was the only North American sports league to prohibit private equity ownership of any of its teams. However, this year, NFL owners voted to change the league’s ownership structure, allowing private equity firms to buy up to a 10% stake in a team with a minimum six-year commitment.
Grant Calcaterra #81 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with teammates after catching a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter of a game against the Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field.
Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
NFL team valuations for 2024 have increased annually since the league’s inception
Thanks to its huge fanbase, the NFL is one of the few businesses almost guaranteed never to lose value. Since its inception in the 1920s, its franchises’ valuations have only increased.
The Dallas Cowboys have held the number one spot for nearly a decade as the most valuable NFL team. They tower over all the other franchises, with a worth of around $11 billion and an annual revenue of $1.22 billion.
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As for the rest of the teams, the Los Angeles Rams hold second place with a valuation of $8 billion, the New England Patriots are third with $7.9 billion, the New York Giants are fourth with $7.85 billion, the Las Vegas Raiders are fifth with $7.8 billion, the San Francisco 49ers are sixth with $7.4 billion, the New York Jets are seventh with $7.35 billion, and the Miami Dolphins are eighth with $7.1 billion.
In 1994, Jeffrey Lurie bought the Philadelphia Eagles for $185 million. Since then, the team’s worth has skyrocketed, and as of September, it is valued at approximately $7 billion, making it the ninth most valuable team in the NFL.
NFL announces the approval of a minority stake sale in the Philadelphia Eagles
On Wednesday, the NFL announced it had approved the sale of a minority stake in the Philadelphia Eagles football team to two family investment groups.
According to the deal, the stake is 8% and only includes the team. Lincoln Financial Field, the team’s home stadium, and other assets are not part of the deal. Lurie will also continue to be the majority stakeholder.
The Eagles’ new minority stakeholders are Amkor Technology chairman Susan Kim and Ed Peskowitz’s children Zack Peskowitz and Olivia Peskowitz Suter. Peskowitz is the founder of United Communications Group and former co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks.
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Since the NFL’s ownership structure changed to allow private equity firms to hold stakes in its franchises, the league has closed various deals with investors eager to own a small part of their favorite teams. Even former superstar quarterback Tom Brady purchased a minority stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.
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