The National Football League has just released the schedules for all teams for the 2021 season. It is hard to handicap which teams will do best because some key rosters are not entirely complete. Most visible among these is Green Bay, where three-time MVP Aaron Rogers has said he wants to move, and the showdown between team and player may not end for weeks, or even into the start of the season.
The other widely discussed topic about the season is whether the Tampa Bay Buccaneers can repeat as Super Bowl champions. Quarterback Tom Brady, a consensus pick for the greatest player of all time, will be 44 in August, which makes him the oldest player in the league.
The first game of the season will be between the Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are no longer the powerhouse that won five Super Bowls, which is one less than the leaders, the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots, and the same count as the San Francisco 49ers. The game is slated for September 9 in Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium. The game marks the return of gifted Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott, who was out most of last year with an injury.
Despite “win-loss” problems, the Cowboys remain the most valuable franchise in the NFL at $5.7 billion, according to the annual list compiled by Forbes expert Mike Ozanian. That value is up 43% in the past five years. Owner Jerry Jones paid $150 million for the team in 1989.
Despite its Super Bowl win, the small market Buccaneers are only worth $2.28 billion, which ranks them 29th among the NFL’s 32 teams. The championship brought the team prestige but not much in enhanced value. The Buccaneer’s operating income is $75 million. The comparable number for Dallas is $425 million.
The team valuation metrics show that profits, and not championships, drive what an NFL team is worth.
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