The NFL is the richest sports league in the world, with the average team worth about $957 million. And he Dallas Cowboys, the most valuable team in the NFL, are now the single most valuable sports franchise on the planet, worth $1.5 billion in a report issued by Forbes.com.
The Saints rank 25th in the league in value at $854 million. Tom Benson bought the franchise from John Mecom Jr. in 1985 for about $75 million. Mecom was awarded he franchise in 1966 for about $10 million.
Pro football is also the most profitable sport in the world (mean operating income in 2006 was $17.8 million on $204 million in revenue). Although its television ratings have slipped in the past decade, the NFL still beats the daylights out of other prime-time programming, including every other sport. The NFL outdraws major league baseball 2-to-1 and NCAA football games 3-to-1 in TV ratings. Nearly three out of every four Americans watched an NFL game on television last season.
The architect of modern-stadium economics and owner of the Cowboys will unleash a $1 billion stadium (financed with a mix of private and public money) in 2009 that will have other NFL owners begging for mercy.
Thanks to their new stadium, which Jerry "Smiley: Jones will operate, the Cowboys are now worth $1.5 billion. The owners of teams like the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars have been moaning that the several million dollars they get each year in aggregate from richer teams like Dallas, Washington and New England is insufficient to keep them competitive. Well, wait until Ralph Wilson, Arthur Blank and Wayne Weaver see the Cowboys' new stadium.
The new monster facility in Arlington, Tex., has more than 200 suites leasing for more than $350 a year. Stadium sponsorships should bring in another $50 million. These numbers are important because in the NFL, national television, ticket and licensing revenue is shared equally among the 32 teams, but the home team keeps all the suite and stadium sponsorship money.
The NFL salary cap limits player salaries to 57 per cent of league revenue, but teams can end-run the cap by paying big signing bonuses that get amortized over the life of the contract. With their new stadium, the Cowboys will have a lot more money than their rivals to lure players with fat signing bonuses, and Jones, who is already worth more than $1 billion, will see his bank account swell.
But there is no reason to pit the other 31 owners. The NFL teams values are up 7 peer cent from last year as well as the most profitable compared to franchises in other leagues.
The NFL's money tree continues to grow. The 2006 season marked the beginning of six-year contract extensions with the three major networks -- a $3.7 billion deal with CBS, a $4.3 billion deal with Fox and a $3.6 billion deal with NBC --that award the NFL with an average of $2 billion a year until 2011.
Perhaps the best example of the value of NFL programming: Last season, ESPN decided to pickup Monday Night Football coverage after its sister company ABC punted on it, tossing another $1.1 billion at the league for eight years, more than double per year what its parent had been paying.
Stadium sponsorships and advertising has also developed into big business for some owners (not the Saints owner), with teams like Dallas, Houston, New England, Philadelphia and Washington generating more than $20 million a year.
Will broadcasters and corporate sponsors get a good return on their investments in the NFL" No one knows, but you can sure it won't be nearly as good a return as Jerry Jones is going to get from his new stadium.
SOME HITHER, OTHERS YON: "Drew is going to continue spreading the ball around," said injured Saints wide receiver Marques Colston about the Saints' game against the Redskins in Washington on Sunday at noon. "The other teams can't just key on stopping one guy because that would play right into Drew's hands." The Saints are hoping Reggie Bush's emergence will offset Colston's absence. Bush totaled 163 yards in the opening win over TampaBay. The Redskins struggled in their opening loss to the Giants. managing only 209 total yards. The game is a pick it. but I like the Saints to win by at least 3. Other NFL selections: Oakland +3 1/2 over Kansas City, Tennessee +1 1/2 over Cincinnati, Indianapolis -2 over Minnesota, Green Bay -3 over Detroit, Carolina -3 over Chicago, NY Giants -8 1/2 over St. Louis, Jacksonville -5 1/2 over Buffalo, Tampa Bay -7 over San Francisco, Miami +6 1/2 over Arizona New England +1 1/2 over NY Jets, Houston -4 1/2 over Baltimore, Denver +1 1/2 over San Diego, Cleveland +6 over Pittsburgh, and Dallas -7 over Philadelphia...
College picks: LSU -41 over North Texas, East Carolina -13 over Tulane, Auburn -10 over Mississippi State, and USC -10 1/2 over Ohio State...The Saints have waived defensive tackle Hollis Thomas off the injured reserve list. Thomas is now a free agent...Chris Paul has postponed his CP3 Big Easy Weekend at Harrah's because of the storms in the area...My time is up. Ed Staton can be reached at edcoachstaton.yahoo.com.
