The NFL’s most valuable team at $11 billion

When Jerry Jones plunked down $150 million to buy the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, the team was losing $1 million a month, according to Jones.

Back then, there were plenty of empty seats and suites at Texas Stadium. The oilman had borrowed every nickel he could to buy the Cowboys, so he had to act quickly – both on and off the field – to make the team profitable.

And he did.

Thirty-five years later, the Cowboys are worth $11 billion, $3 billion more than any other team in the National Football League, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations revealed Thursday.

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

Along the way to winnings, Jones made a series of bold moves that set new standards for league ownership and yielded a huge return on his investment.

When Jones took over in 1989, he immediately fired legendary coach Tom Landry and hired his former teammate from his college football days at Arkansas, Jimmy Johnson. In 1989, Jones traded away his best player, Herschel Walker, in a deal that netted the Cowboys four players and several draft picks that would yield the likes of Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson.

By 1992, the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. The team won again in 1993 and again in 1995 under coach Barry Switzer.

The Cowboys are one of the most popular teams to bet through DraftKings platform, even though Texas doesn’t yet allow sports betting, so the app can’t bet within state borders, DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins told CNBC on Thursday.

Jones is also quick to innovate off the court. He knew that while the revenue from sponsorship deals with the NFL was split evenly between the teams, he could keep all the sponsorship money in the stadiums. Jones became the first NFL owner to get his own sponsorship deals at Texas Stadium, the former home of the Cowboys, in 1995.

It targeted brands such as American Express and Pepsi to be stadium sponsors — then, their respective rivals Visa and Coca-Cola he had deals with the NFL. He went and then Winwhich did not have an agreement with NFL Properties, the league’s licensing arm. In 1995, Jones signed a 10-year, $40 million contract with Pepsi-Cola and made a $2.5 million per year, 10-year contract with Nike.

The sponsorship deals were a huge boon for the Cowboys. This year, the franchise could reach $250 million in sponsorship revenue, at least $50 million more than any other team, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.

The value of the Cowboys’ sponsorship deals has increased over the years. The Cowboys moved into their new stadium in 2009. In 2013, the building was renamed AT&T Stage when Jones signed a long-term deal worth around $20 million a year. Through 2021, Jones had announced a 10-year, $200 million contract extension with Molson Coors.

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

And even though the Cowboys haven’t been to the Super Bowl in 29 years, they’re a perennial playoff team and the seats and suites are almost always full.

Even outside of football, the stadium is rarely empty. This year, Jones will host Monster Jam. professional boxing match with Mike Tyson. the Big 12 college football championship; high school football; and Professional Bull Riders. As with stadium sponsorships, Jones doesn’t have to share any of that money with the league’s other 31 owners.

Jones, who is also the general manager of the Cowboys, has received a lot of criticism for not returning to the Super Bowl since 1995. But there is no doubt that he created the financial blueprint for an NFL team. The Cowboys, at $11 billion, are 73 times the price Jones has paid for the team to date, compared to just an 18-fold increase in S&P 500 during the same period.