It was a tough 2020 season for the NFL as revenue reportedly dropped by 20 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, the value of the average NFL team is still up 14 percent, to $3.48 billion, which is the biggest gain in five years, according to reports. This gain is mostly due to the mega $112.6 billion media rights deal that the NFL signed with the networks in March.
According to the latest rankings released by Forbes, the national media rights payout to each of the league’s 32 teams is going to increase from $220 million in 2021 to $377 million in 2032. Those numbers reportedly do not include the NFL Sunday Ticket deal with DirecTV, worth an average of $1.5 billion annually through 2022.
Per the Forbes report on Thursday, the value of the Pittsburgh Steelers went up 14 percent compared to last year, and they organization is now worth $3.43 billion with an operating income of $24.5 million. League-wide, the Steelers’ value now ranks 14th overall, while the Dallas Cowboys, who will also play Thursday night in the Hall of Fame game against Pittsburgh are the most valuable team at $6.5 billion. The Cowboys have now topped Forbes’ rankings for 15th consecutive years.
With most NFL stadiums practically empty throughout the 2020 season because of the pandemic, the operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) decreased to an average of $7.1 million a team, from $109 million the previous season, according to the Forbes report.
In 2020, Forbes listed the Steelers’ value at $3 billion, which ranked the franchise 15th overall in the league with an operating income of $86 million.
