The Buffalo Bills and their passionate Bills Mafia certainly value their favorite team, but when it comes to the net worth of the franchise, the Bills came in dead last among NFL teams in the annual Forbes ranking of the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world.
With a total value of $1.6 billion, the Bills were the least valuable franchise in the NFL, and one of only three NFL teams (along with the Cincinnati Bengals ($1.8 billion) and Detroit Lions ($1.7 billion) to fall outside the top 50 most valuable franchises.
Owners Kim and Terry Pegula purchased the Bills for $1.4 billion in 2014. Since then, the franchise has experienced a slight growth in value, to $1.6 billion in 2018, but not enough to prevent the Bills from ranking last in the NFL. Perhaps a repeat trip to the playoffs in 2018 will help push Buffalo into next year’s top 50 most valuable franchises?
The franchise values are based on Forbes valuations done over the past year for the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, Formula One, soccer, and NASCAR. According to the official Forbes story, Forbes’ team values reflect enterprise values (equity plus debt) based on current venue deals unless a new venue is pending.
The article notes that there are currently 106 franchises with a total worth of at least $1 billion, up from 87 such teams in 2017. The cutoff for cracking the top 50 is the Cleveland Browns ($1.95 billion).
The NFL placed 29 teams on the list, far ahead of the NBA (eight teams), soccer (seven teams), and Major League Baseball (six teams).
For the third consecutive year, Jerry Jones and his Dallas Cowboys lead the list with a total value of $4.8 billion, followed by a trio of soccer squads: Manchester United ($4.123 billion), Real Madrid ($4.09 billion), and Barcelona ($4.064 billion).
The New York Yankees ($4 billion) round out the top five, followed by the New England Patriots ($3.7 billion), New York Knicks ($3.6 billion), Los Angeles Lakers ($3.3 billion), New York Giants ($3.3 billion), and the Golden State Warriors ($3.1 billion).
Among NFL teams, after the Cowboys, Patriots, and Giants, the most valuable franchises are: the Washington Redskins ($3.1 billion), San Francisco 49ers ($3.05 billion), Los Angeles Rams ($3 billion), Chicago Bears ($2.85 billion), Houston Texans ($2.8 billion), New York Jets ($2.75 billion), and the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles ($2.65 billion).
The rest of the rankings outside of the top 10 are:
11. Denver Broncos, $2.6 billion
12. Miami Dolphins, $2.575 billion
13. Green Bay Packers, $2.55 billion
14. Baltimore Ravens, $2.5 billion
15. Atlanta Falcons, $2.475 billion
16. Pittsburgh Steelers, $2.45 billion
17. Seattle Seahawks, $2.45 billion
18. Minnesota Vikings, $2.4 billion
19. Oakland Raiders, $2.38 billion
20. Indianapolis Colts, $2.375 billion
21. Carolina Panthers, $2.3 billion
22. Los Angeles Chargers, $2.275 billion
23. Arizona Cardinals, $2.15 billion
24. Kansas City Chiefs, $2.1 billion
25. Jacksonville Jaguars, $2.075 billion
26. Tennessee Titans, $2.05 billion
27. New Orleans Saints, $2 billion
28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $1.975 billion
29. Cleveland Browns, $1.95 billion
30. Cincinnati Bengals, $1.8 billion
31. Detroit Lions, $1.7 billion
32. Buffalo Bills, $1.6 billion