Dallas Cowboys' Riches Can't Solve On-Field Problems
The Dallas Cowboys have built the best economic machine in team sports since Jerry Jones bought the team for $150 million in 1989. America’s Team posts the NFL’s highest sponsorship, premium seating and merchandise revenue year after year. Local revenue of nearly $800 million last year was twice as much as the next highest-grossing team, the Los Angeles Rams. The Cowboys are the first sports team valued at more than $10 billion.
Yet, the massive wealth gap can’t help Dallas on the field this year, as it stumbled to six losses in its first nine games and has a bleak outlook for the rest of the year after quarterback Dak Prescott underwent second-ending surgery Wednesday on his hamstring.
The Cowboys are not alone among wealthy clubs struggling in 2024. Six of the eight highest-revenue teams have losing records, with the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles the exceptions.
So far this season, the Cowboys have produced one win for every $266 million of 2023 local revenue. The New York Giants (one win per $163 million), Las Vegas Raiders ($151 million) and New England Patriots ($115 million) have also not had the on-field results to match their financial heft. In contrast, teams with six of the seven best records this year have below average revenue. The Buffalo Bills ($19 million), Detroit Lions ($20 million) and Kansas City Chiefs ($22 million) have all racked up wins relative to their revenue.
The NFL’s economic system gives teams one through 32 the ability to compete on an equal footing. It provided more than $400 million last year in equally shared league revenue, largely based on its blockbuster TV deals. The league check more than covered the $225 million salary cap, meaning that no team needs to cut corners on signing players because of cash flow considerations.
The NFL model stands in sharp contrast to MLB, which featured the sport’s two financial titans, the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, in the World Series. MLB central revenue is one-quarter what it is in the NFL, and there is no salary cap to rein in the big spenders. The Yankees, Dodgers and New York Mets all had luxury tax payrolls this year that exceeded the total 2023 revenue for a dozen teams.
Revenue sharing narrows some of the financial gap, and some low-revenue teams do make MLB’s postseason every year, including the Cleveland Guardians, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers in 2024. But money really matters in baseball. Of the top 12 teams by revenue, only two had losing records, including the San Francisco Giants at 80-82 and Texas Rangers at 78-84 fresh off their 2023 World Series title.
MLB is more akin to the Premier League, where the Big Six can flex their financial advantage that makes them nearly relegation-proof and valued at revenue multiples more in line with North American sports teams, versus teams at the bottom of the EPL financial table.
In the NFL, everyone is a winner off the field. The least valuable NFL team (Cincinnati Bengals) is worth $4.7 billion, and every team earned more than $70 million in operating profit last year. All 32 NFL teams rank among the world’s 50 most valuable sports franchises.
