Page 81 - Forbes Magazine-October 31, 2018

LeaderBoard

SPORTSMONEY FRANCHISE VALUES
least 30%, and the maximum amount of 2018 ($MIL) 0 1000
debt at the team level is $350 million. If a 1998
team is sold for $2.3 billion, for example,
Dallas Cowboys
the minimum GP equity would be $585 Jerry Jones
million, assuming the GP has secured the New England Patriots
maximum amount of debt for the team. Robert Kraft
In other words, it takes much more New York Giants 2. MATT RYAN
John Mara, Steven Tisch ATLANTA FALCONS
than being a member of Th e Forbes 400, TOT
TOTAL EARNINGS:AAL EARNINGS:
Los Angeles Rams
$ $57.5 MIL
many of whose fortunes were made via Stanley Kroenke SALARY/BONUSES:B
real estate or privately run companies. Washington Redskins $52.5 MIL
ENDORSEMENTS:S:
It takes liquid wealth—lots of it. Daniel Snyder ENDORSEMENT
$
$5 MIL
San Francisco 49ers
One reason this has become an in- Denise DeBartolo York,
creasingly large pill for one individual to John York
swallow is the contrast between the long- Chicago Bears
McCaskey family
term performance of the stock market 1. 1. AARON AARON
New York Jets RODGERS
(a key source of liquid wealth) and NFL Johnson family GREEN BAY PACKERSE C
GREEN BAY PACKERS
N
TOTAL EARNINGS:O
franchise values. During the past 20 years, Houston Texans TOTAL EARNINGS:
$75.9 MIL
team values have climbed almost nine- Robert McNair SALARY/BONUSES:A U
$ $66.9 MIL
fold—an 11.6% annual rate—versus just Philadelphia Eagles ENDORSEMENTS:N
ENDORSEMENTS:
Jeffrey Lurie
4.5% for the S&P 500. Moreover, the NFL $9 MIL
$
permits no corporate ownership. League Denver Broncos
Pat Bowlen Trust
rules stipulate a maximum of 24 limited
Green Bay Packers
partners. In the example above, the LPs Shareholder-owned
would have to throw in $1.37 billion—and Atlanta Falcons
get no say in how the team is run. Arthur Blank
Th e NFL’s requirements have been eff ec- Baltimore Ravens
Stephen Bisciotti
tive. Th e league has not had a team in fi nan-
Pittsburgh Steelers
cial trouble because of too much debt since Daniel Rooney Trust,
Art Rooney II
1999, when Art Modell agreed to sell the
Seattle Seahawks
Baltimore Ravens. Th ere have been no Los Paul Allen
Angeles Dodgers, New Orleans Hornets or Miami Dolphins
Stephen Ross
Arizona Coyotes fi ascoes in the NFL.
Already the biggest and most profi table Oakland Raiders
Mark Davis
league in the world—the average team has
Minnesota Vikings
$427 million in revenue and $95 million in Zygmunt Wilf
operating income—the NFL will soon get Indianapolis Colts
even richer. It can opt out of the Sunday James Irsay
Ticket deal with AT&T’s DirecTV in 2019, Car
Carolina Panthersolina Panthers
David Teppervid Tepper
Da
four years early. Th e current deal, which
Los Angeles Chargers
averages $1.5 billion a year, is worth 50%
Spanos family
more than the prior agreement.
Arizona Cardinals
Bidding for Sunday Ticket will be hot. William Bidwill
Amazon and Disney’s ESPN are likely to Kansas City Chiefs
be interested, given their push toward Lamar Hunt family
streaming sports. Forbes’ best guess: Th e Jacksonville Jaguars
Shahid Khan
annual average value of the next Sunday
New Orleans Saints
Ticket deal could be twice this one. Gayle Benson
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones Tennessee Titans
recently said, “Legalized gambling is going Amy Adams Strunk
to increase the amount of time people Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Glazer family
spend watching the NFL on TV and
online, and will therefore have a positive Cleveland Browns
Dee & Jimmy Haslam
impact on the value of our content.”
Cincinnati Bengals 479%
As a result, barring any changes in Michael Brown
ownership and fi nancing rules, the schism Detroit Lions 445%
between the NFL’s economics and team Martha Firestone Ford
sale prices will probably widen. Which Buffalo Bills 535%
Terry & Kim Pegula
isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
26 | FORBES OCTOBER 31, 2018 Enterprise value (equity plus net debt) of team based on current stadium deal (unless new stadium is pending).