Forbes: Cowboys worth $4 billion, now most valuable franchise in sports – CBSSports.com

If Jerry Jones was as good at putting together football teams as he is at making money, then the Cowboys would’ve won every Super Bowl since 2006.

For the ninth straight year, the Dallas Cowboys are No. 1 on Forbes’ annual list of the NFL’s most valuable franchises. Jones is pretty much printing money in Dallas — and then not giving any of it to DeMarco Murray. Zing.

The Cowboys are worth an estimated $4 billion, marking the first-time ever that an NFL franchise has cracked the $4 billion mark. It’s been a nice return-on-investment for Jones, who bought the team for $140 million in 1989.

The Cowboys’ new valuation means that they are now the world’s most valuable franchise.

According to Forbes, the five most valuable franchises in the world are the Cowboys ($4 billion), Real Madrid ($3.26 billion), the Patriots ($3.2 billion), the New York Yankees ($3.2 billion) and Barcelona ($3.16 billion).

Just two months ago, the Cowboys were ranked behind Real Madrid.

On the NFL end, the 49ers ($2.7 billion) moved into the top-5 in value this year thanks to the opening of Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers had been ranked No. 9 in 2014 and were worth just $1.224 billion in 2013.

The value of an NFL franchise has been ridiculously skyrocketing since 2013. Two years ago, there was only one team worth over $2 billion — the Cowboys. This year, there are nine teams worth over $2 billion and another four teams on the cusp, with values between $1.9 billion and $1.99 billion.

Here’s the complete list of the NFL’s most valuable franchises. You’ll notice that the Cowboys are worth more than the Raiders, Lions and Bills combined.

NFL’s Most Valuable Teams (Worth)

Multi-billion dollar club

1. Dallas Cowboys ($4 billion)

2. New England Patriots ($3.2 billion)

3. Washington Redskins ($2.85 billion)

4. New York Giants ($2.8 billion)

5. San Francisco 49ers ($2.7 billion)

6. New York Jets ($2.6 billion)

7. Houston Texans ($2.5 billion)

8. Chicago Bears ($2.45 billion)

9. Philadelphia Eagles ($2.4 billion)

Billion dollar club

10. Green Bay Packers ($1.95 billion)

11. Denver Broncos ($1.94 billion)

12. Baltimore Ravens ($1.93 billion)

13. Pittsburgh Steelers ($1.9 billion)

14. Indianapolis Colts ($1.88 billion)

15. Seattle Seahawks ($1.87 billion)

16. Miami Dolphins ($1.85 billion)

17. Atlanta Falcons (1.67 billion)

18. Minnesota Vikings ($1.59 billion)

19. Carolina Panthers ($1.56 billion)

20. Arizona Cardinals ($1.54 billion)

21. Kansas City Chiefs ($1.53 billion)

22. San Diego Chargers ($1.525 million)

23. New Orleans Saints ($1.52 billion)

24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($1.51 billion)

25. Cleveland Browns ($1.5 billion)

26. Tennessee Titans ($1.49 billion)

27. Jacksonville Jaguars ($1.48 billion)

28. St. Louis Rams ($1.45 billion)

29. Cincinnati Bengals ($1.445 billion)

30. Detroit Lions ($1.44 billion)

31. Oakland Raiders ($1.43 billion)

32. Buffalo Bills ($1.4 billion)