By: Brent Shockley, CFA
The 2024 NFL season kicked off Thursday night with a late touchdown overturned by replay to preserve a victory by the defending Super Bowl champion, Kansas City Chiefs, over the Baltimore Ravens. The second game of the NFL season will take place this evening in Sao Paulo, Brazil between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles. The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 (“SBA”) was passed to preserve Friday nights for high school football and Saturdays for college football – with a catch. The Act protects high school and college football from the second weekend of September through the second weekend of December. There is a “Black Friday’ game after Thanksgiving for the second consecutive year, but the start time of 3pm eastern / 2pm central is in compliance with the SBA since it will conclude prior to 6pm eastern.
NFL Valuations
The start of the NFL season brings updated franchise valuations. The average NFL franchise value is $5.9 billion per Sportico. The top 10 NFL valuations and details are listed in the table below.
NFL Votes to Allow Private Equity
Last week, NFL owners voted to allow private equity to acquire up to a 10% passive stake in a given franchise. The NFL is the last major professional sports league to allow private equity. The details of private equity investments in professional sports are presented in the following table.
Allowing private equity allows more owners to monetize their investments, which has been increasing rapidly in recent years. For example, Jerry Jones purchased the Dallas Cowboys for $140 million in 1989. The total value of the Cowboys today is estimated at $10.3 billion. The Washington Commanders sold for $6 billion last year and the Denver Broncos sold for $4.65 billion in 2022.
