NFL franchises are some of the most valuable in the world when compared to other sports leagues. So, the Cincinnati Bengals are still extremely valuable even if they are dead last of the 32 teams in the most popular league in the United States.
Sportico recently released the valuations of every team in the NFL, and the Bengals came in at $5.5 billion. Even if it’s the least valuable, that still doesn’t justify the Brown family apologists who are quick to point out that this is their only source of income.
Well, cry me a river because NFL franchises are still a cash cow and that’s no excuse for trying to short change the likes of defensive end Trey Hendrickson and first-round edge rusher Shemar Stewart.
The formula for running a successful franchise is extremely complex, but I’ll be happy to explain it using my expert, high-level knowledge: win games.
Cincinnati Bengals are indeed in a small market
Cincy Jungle even notes that the Bengals are in a smaller market, and that’s true. Cincinnati is the 66th ranked city in the country in terms of population (I would not have guessed it was that low).
But, how do you explain trailing the woeful Jacksonville Jaguars ($5.57 billion)? Sure, Jacksonville is the 10th largest city in the United States (don’t lie, you didn’t know that) and is actually bigger than Boston (25th), but are you going to tell me that the Jags have a more ravenous fan base than the New England Patriots? As Chad Johnson would say, “child, please.”
The Jaguars are in SEC country and they have to go to London seven times a year just to get anyone to attend a “home” game. If I was a gambling man – which I’m not – I’d bet that their franchise valuation gets a significant boost from their European jaunts.
If the Bengals got more serious about winning and were less concerned with saving fifty cents on a superstar’s contract, they’d be worth more money. Remember what Stewart said a couple of months ago during his standoff?
“In my case, I’m 100% right,” Stewart said. “I’m not asking for nothing that’s never been done before. In [the team’s case], y’all just want to win an argument instead of winning more games, in my opinion.”
He figured that out pretty quickly, huh?
Who are the most valuable NFL franchises?
For many years, the Washington Redskins were the most valuable franchise in all of sports. Why? Well, they have an extensive history, are located in the nation’s capital and they owned their stadium. The last part is a huge boost to a franchise’s overall value and others have caught on.
Now, the top team is the Dallas Cowboys, aka America’s Team. With the not-so-recent launch of AT+T Stadium – “Jerry World” – the Cowboys are now valued at an NFL-best $12.8 billion. I don’t know this for sure, but if he were to sell the team tomorrow, he’d probably get $20 billion for it.
Only eight teams on the list are valued at less than $6 billion and the Bengals are one of them. A quick perusal of the rankings show that the Bengals aren’t in elite company. In addition to the Jaguars, the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are in the Bengals’ neighborhood.
Yes, Cincinnati isn’t a huge market. But, why compound that by giving those people an inferior product? The Bengals have some high-level talent, why not open up the checkbook to slightly-above-poverty levels and field a competitive team? Don’t think of it as spending, Mike; think of it as an investment.
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