Dollars & Sense - Forbes NFL Team Values

Last week, Forbes released their 2012 NFL team valuations.  America’s team, the Dallas Cowboys, came in with the highest value at a huge $2.1 billion.  The Jacksonville Jaguars came in with the lowest value at $770 million.  Rounding out the top five were the New England Patriots at $1.635 billion, the Washington Redskins at $1.6 billion, the New York Giants at $1.468 billion, and the Houston Texans at $1.305 billion. 

This season saw a record 20 out of 32 teams being valued at $1 billion or more just further evidence of the NFL’s sheer dominance.  The other billion dollar teams included the Jets, Eagles, Bears, 49ers, Packers, Ravens, Colts, Broncos, Steelers, Dolphins, Panthers, Seahawks, Buccaneers, Titans, and Chiefs. 

Clearly the NFL team values don’t discriminate in size of media market, team win-loss record, new or old stadium, or player star power.  One of the big reasons that NFL teams are valued so highly is the almost $10 billion of revenue that the league brings in each year.  A huge contribution to that are the oft talked about national television contracts. 

The Cowboys also blew away the competition in terms of revenue and profit with an astounding $500 million in revenue and over $225 million in profit.  You could see where a team like the Oakland Raiders (valued at $785 million) would have some trouble given revenue that is less than the Cowboys’ profit, while they also operate at a loss of a little more than $15 million.

Each year the Forbes NFL values truly show the strength of the brands in the league.  Even the bottom team, the Jaguars, is still valued at $770 million.  With an ambitious new owner in Shadid Khan, it would come as no surprise if the Jags were able to boost their value a bit over the next few seasons.

Brand strength is really what helps in determining the value.  That is the same reason why the New Orleans Saints are only at number 23 on the list.  Sure they’re really good and have been for a handful of years now, but they are still a relatively new brand.  The Cowboys have been a marquee brand for years now.  The strength of their brand may be what allows them to charge $75 for parking.

Most expensive parking in the NFL: Cowboys $75, Bears $49, Packers and Seahawks $40, Steelers $35 (via @fancostx)
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) September 6, 2012

Team values are simply estimations because it is of course impossible to tell exactly.  Relative to other professional sports leagues, team values are less volatile in the NFL due to the centralized revenue stream.  But still there is room for improvement for many on this list.  Which team do you think has the best chance of overtaking the Cowboys for the top spot in the coming years?

Follow Kevin Rossi on Twitter @kevin_rossi.

Cowboys Keeping an Eye on Bryant

Last week I wrote an article on the relationship problems for Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant and his former agent Drew Rosenhaus. Lately, Dez has had more problems than his agent to worry about. This offseason, Dez was charged with a misdemeanor for assaulting his mother. The NFL has not imposed any penalties as of now, but the Cowboys took action yesterday to ensure Bryant is on his best behavior.

The Cowboys have set off-the-field guidelines for Dez Bryant to follow. The guidelines include a midnight curfew, restriction to night clubs that the team approve, no alcohol consumption, he cannot attend strip clubs, he must attend weekly counseling sessions, and he will have full time security.

So far, Dez seems to have no issues being compliant with the new guidelines. He can't give comment because of his pending legal issue. The full time security will consist of a rotating three man team that will drive Dez to practice, games and team functions. Dez will have to pay up for the security. The Cowboys are not allowed to pay for Dez's security because it would constitute a violation of salary cap rules.

Coach Garrett believes these regulations will help Bryant and also hold him accountable for his previous actions. Jason Garrett said about the new guidelines, "We want to support our players, we want to support Dez and we want to support his family, and the same time hold him accountable to what he needs to do."

Although the Cowboys have imposed these rules, they are yet to give details on what consequences would include if the rules were broken. Dez signed a 5 year contract in 2010 worth $11.8 million, $8.63 million of that being guaranteed. He is set to earn $1.335 million in salary for the 2012 season. Although it would be difficult to imagine a way that Dez's salary could be effected currently, he should be careful for the future. If teams witness Dez's behavioral issues dating back to college, they will be less likely to give him longer term deals.

Final Thought
While I'm not in favor of putting restrictions on players in most situations, I think this is a great move by the Cowboys. Hopefully the restrictions will help to keep Dez out of trouble. Not only can these restriction be beneficial for the Cowboys on the field, it could potentially be vital for Dez's career in the NFL. If the restrictions prove to be helpful, it will be interesting to see if teams with players who have bad off-the-field history try and enact similar rules. It seems likely.

Drew and Dez

Drew Rosenhaus may be the most prominent name of sport agents. He certainly is the most prominent NFL agent. Rosenhaus is the only agent ever to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he has negotiated over 2 billion dollars worth of NFL contracts, and is reportedly worth $65 million. Rosenhaus also reportedly offered Dez Bryant some benefits to sign with him before the 2010 NFL draft.

David Wells who is a long time advisor to Dez Bryant, said that Drew Rosenhaus offered him $10,000 for a charity that he worked with. Wells also says that Rosenhaus offered to fly them down to Miami to get the deal signed. Text messages exchanged between Wells and Rosenhaus between December 2009 and January 2010 reveal clear violations of the NFL Player Association policy on agents.

David Wells says he decided to share the text messages now because he is tired of a system that, "takes advantage of athletes, particularly African-American athletes." The timing of the release of the text messages does seem a little suspicious. Dez Bryant decided to switch agents and hire Rosenhaus in December. Recently before Wells decided to release the text messages, Dez Bryant fired Rosenhaus and rehired his original agent Eugene Parker. It is no coincident that Wells decided to call out Rosenhaus after Bryant decided to fire him.

Reportedly, Drew Rosenhaus advanced large sums of money to Dez Bryant after he decided to hire him. Once Bryant fired Rosenhaus and rehired Eugene Parker, Rosenhaus wanted his money back. Rosenhaus contacted contacted Wells looking for the money. It has been reported that Rosenhaus' empire is under some financial problems.

We need agents like Jerry...

Final Thought
As unfortunate as this story is, this is just a small sample of the problems with the sport agency business. A lot of problems exist with college kids entering the professional levels. A significant number of the soon to be professional athletes have never seen the money that they are in line to make. Some powerful agents see these kids as an easy target to exploit. Agents can offer benefits to entice players to sign with them. At the professional level, misconduct by agents still exist, but exist at a lesser level because some of the athletes already have money. If done correctly, sport agency is an important business because agents have power to get the most lucrative contracts for the players they represent.

 @dmrosen7