Cowboys top NFL team valuations

The National Football League is American sports’ greatest cash cow. In no other game can owners routinely convince cities to pony hundreds of millions of dollars for revenue producing new stadiums…while also inducing fans to pay  thousands for personal seat licences that offer the opportunity to buy pricey tickets.

Nice gig if you can get it, and most of the league’s 32 franchises have done just that.

When Forbes put together its most recent list of the league’s most valuable teams, those with new stadiums (or new ones coming online within the next year) crowded the top. In all, a whopping 19 franchises were valued at more than $1 billion, compared with five last year and none five years ago.

Leading the list: None other than America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys, at $1.6 billion. With a new stadium opening for 2009, Forbes estimates that the club will bring in an additional $100 million each season.

Here are the Top 10, with current valuation:

Dallas Cowboys: $1.6 billion
Washington Redskins: $1.5 billion
New England Patriots: $1.3 billion
New York Giants: $1.2 billion
New York Jets: $1.2 billion
Houston Texans: $1.1 billion
Philadelphia Eagles: $1.1 billion
Indianapolis Colts: $1.1 billion
Chicago Bears: $1.1 billion
Baltimore Ravens: $1.1 billion

To read more about these billionaire franchises, and to check out the rest of the list, visit Forbes.

Related lists:

• 2008 Dallas Cowboys game highlights

See all Pro Football lists