The NFL salary cap continues to grow at record rates, which is a direct reflection of the money the sport is generating as a whole. While the salary cap breaks things up evenly among all 32 teams to ensure competitive balance, each franchise has its own individual valuation based on media, sponsorship, ticket revenue, operating income and total revenue. The Pittsburgh Steelers, despite having one of the largest fan bases in the league, ranked No. 17 this year, according to Forbes List.
This is the same ranking they had last year, just outside the top half of NFL teams, though their valuation spiked from $5.3 billion to $6.5 billion for a healthy 23-percent change year over year.
Just a five-percent gap separates the Steelers from the No. 13 spot with the Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers only barely ahead of then. The gap significantly widens from there with the No. 12 Houston Texans at a $7.4 billion valuation.
Half of the 16 teams ahead of the Steelers are growing at a faster rate, some significantly so. The No. 1 Dallas Cowboys grew 29 percent to a staggering $13 billion, for example. Nine of the 15 teams behind the Steelers had a faster rate of growth. Even if they catch up to some of the teams ahead of them, the Steelers figure to remain in the middle of the league as others start to catch up.
Notably, the Cleveland Browns are just 1.5 percent behind the Steelers and growing at a slightly faster rate. For now, the Steelers are the most valuable franchise in the AFC North, but that distinction could go to the Browns in the next year or two if the trend continues. The Baltimore Ravens are No. 23 at $6.1 billion, and the Cincinnati Bengals are holding down the bottom spot at No. 32 with a valuation of $5.25 billion.
The fact that the least valuable franchise is caught up to where the No. 17 Steelers were a year ago shows the strong growth of the league as a whole.
Here is a note on Forbes’ methodology for putting together this list.
“Team values are enterprise values (equity plus net debt) and include the economics of the team’s stadium (including non-NFL revenue that accrues to the team’s owner) but not the value of the stadium real estate itself. Team values also exclude other businesses related to the team with separate financial statements, such as The Star, the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters and entertainment district. Team values are rounded to the nearest $50 million, and estimated operating income is rounded to the nearest $1 million.”
Stadium values are related but not fully included in these totals. It’s crazy to think how much further the Cowboys are ahead of everybody else given all the assets this Forbes methodology leaves off for them.
The Steelers are hosting the 2026 NFL Draft, which should generate extra income for the team, though that probably won’t be reflected until the 2027 list comes out.
Considering Art Rooney originally purchased the franchise for $2,500 in 1933, a casual 216 million percent return on investment isn’t bad at all.
