Jerry Jones is still on top.
CNBC on Wednesday released its franchise valuations for all 32 NFL teams for the 2026 season. Leading the way are the Dallas Cowboys with a valuation of $16 billion.
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CNBC senior sports reporter Michael Ozanian explained why the Cowboys reign supreme.
“The Cowboys are the most valuable team in the NFL simply because they generate by far the most revenue in the NFL,” Ozanian told NBCU Local. “During the 2025 season, the Cowboys generated $1.3 billion in revenue. Compare that to a league average of 723 million dollars.”
Trailing not too far behind the Cowboys are the Los Angeles Rams. The Stan Kroenke-owned team has a $14.5 billion valuation, a 36% growth from last season that tops Dallas’ 28%.
The Rams are in a significantly better position than the Los Angeles Chargers. Both teams play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, so why is the difference so stark?
“The Rams are similar to the Cowboys in a sense that they control the economics of their stadium,” Ozanian said. “So, Stan Kroenke, who owns the Rams, he built the stadium, he operates it. The Chargers, who also play in that stadium, are tenants. So, to give you an idea, the difference it makes in revenue, in 2025 the Rams generated $950 million in revenue, the second most in the NFL.
“The Chargers’ revenue was only $630 million … and this comes from things like leasing suites, hosting non-NFL events in the stadium. You could net revenue well over $5 million for a concert, so they run a lot of events through there.”
Ozanian added that several more teams are building new stadiums for similar reasons. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Commanders, Chicago Bears and Kansas City Chiefs are among the teams in the process of creating a new home.
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Rounding out the top five are the Las Vegas Raiders ($13B) at No. 3, New York Giants ($12.5B) at No. 4 and New England Patriots ($12.25B) at No. 5.
The San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets are all worth more than $11 billion to settle the top 10.
San Francisco took a jump from eight to six and is knocking on the door of the top-five teams. Ozanian explained what’s been going right in the Bay Area.
“The 49ers have also done a very good job on the business side,” Ozanian said. “They’ve had, typically, the last several years, a very good competitive football team. That’s allowed them to command high prices. They do not own the stadium, but they control the economics for football.
“They also derive some revenue, not a lot, from non-NFL events that typically goes to the government authority that owns the stadium. But their pricing on their tickets, suites, on their sponsorships is among the best in the NFL. And I think that their market being out there on the West Coast has helped them, as well.”
On the flip side, the bottom three teams are the Cincinnati Bengals ($8.55B), Buffalo Bills ($8.5B) and Arizona Cardinals ($8.4B). Buffalo will hope the new Highmark Stadium gets it a higher mark for the 2027 ranking.
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See the full list of valuations here: