Rising NFL valuations mean massive returns for owners [Video]

A National Football League team today is a $6.5 billion business.

That is the average value of the NFL’s 32 franchises, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations. Pro football teams have been a lucrative asset for owners in the most popular U.S. sports league: The returns they have seen on their initial investments dwarf the gains of traditional stocks over matching time periods.

Take, for example, the Houston Texans,No. 11 on CNBC’s 2024 value rankings. Back in 1999, the last time the NFL expanded, the late Robert McNair agreed to buy the rights to the franchise at a purchase price of $600 million, which takes into account payment structure and the value of a deal over time. The Texans are now worth $6.35 billion, more than 10 times McNair’s fee and three times more than …