Vikings value still lagging behind in NFL

The Vikings have a new stadium approved, but until those revenues hit they likely will be toward the bottom of the league for franchise value. A recent Forbes ranking puts them at No. 28.

The Vikings may have a new stadium on the way, but, until it arrives, they will be lagging in the valuation of franchises, of which Forbes has become the benchmark.

The magazine recently listed the top 50 sports franchises in terms of valuation and all 32 NFL teams made the top-50 list. The average value of NFL teams is over $1 billion, headed by the Dallas Cowboys, who were valued at a whopping $2.23 billion – almost three times the value of the Vikings ($796 million).

The Vikings ranked 28th among NFL teams and 41st overall in the annual valuation poll. Only four NFL teams were valued at less – Buffalo, St. Louis, Oakland and Jacksonville.

Here is the full list, which shows the disparity between the haves and have-nots among the NFL teams, which is based largely on stadiums and stadium revenue streams:

1. Dallas Cowboys $1.85 billion
2. Washington Redskins $1.56 billion
3. New England Patriots $1.4 billion
4. New York Giants $1.3 billion
5. New York Jets $1.23 billion
6. Houston Texans $1.2 billion
7. Philadelphia Eagles $1.16 billion
8. Chicago Bears $1.09 billion
9. Green Bay Packers $1.09 billion
10. Baltimore Ravens $1.09 billion
11. Indianapolis Colts $1.06 billion
12. Denver Broncos $1.05 billion
13. Pittsburgh Steelers $1.02 billion
14. Miami Dolphins $1.01 billion
15. Carolina Panthers $1 billion
16. Seattle Seahawks $997 million
17. San Francisco 49ers $990 million
18. Kansas City Chiefs $980 million
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers $980 million
20. Cleveland Browns $977 million
21. New Orleans Saints $965 million
22. Tennessee Titans $964 million
23. San Diego Chargers $920 million
24. Arizona Cardinals $901 million
25. Cincinnati Bengals $875 million
26. Detroit Lions $844 million
27. Atlanta Falcons $814 million
28. Minnesota Vikings $796 million
29. Buffalo Bills $792 million
30. St. Louis Rams $775 million
31. Oakland Raiders $761 million
32. Jacksonville Jaguars $725 million

The bad news for the Vikings is that they are significantly behind the majority of the NFL in terms of franchise value. However, while currently sitting 28th, once the new stadium comes in, barring teams in front of them getting new stadium deals, it’s not inconceivable that the Vikings could leap-frog several teams and move into the middle of the pack.

With half the league right at or above the $1 billion mark for franchise value, there is a lot of work the Vikings need to get done to get up into that stratosphere, but, once the new stadium is built, expect to see the Vikings leave teams like Oakland, Buffalo and Jacksonville in the dust and finally become one of the “haves” of the NFL after years of wallowing near the bottom.

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John Holler has been writing about the Vikings for more than a decade for Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.

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