Cowboys top Forbes most valuable NFL teams list

The NFL's Dallas Cowboys are the world's most valuable sports franchise, according to a Forbes poll released on Monday that said new broadcasting deals helped boost the league's average team value by 38 percent from last year.

The Cowboys, who unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid as the world's richest team, are valued at $4 billion, a 25 percent jump from last year, and remain the NFL's most valuable team for a ninth consecutive year, Forbes said in a statement.

Rounding out the NFL's top five are the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots ($3.2 billion), Washington Redskins ($2.85 billion), New York Giants ($2.8 billion) and San Francisco 49ers ($2.7 billion).

The average NFL team is now worth $2 billion, the highest value in the 18 years Forbes has been tracking professional football team values.

Forbes attributed the gain to a $39 million jump in national revenue for each of the NFL's 32 teams, the bulk of which came from the start of the league's new broadcasting deals.

According to Forbes, what the most valuable teams on the list have in common is a presence in large markets and stadiums which provide them with more premium seating and sponsorship revenue than other teams generate.

The 49ers posted a 69 percent jump in value that Forbes said was the largest one-year increase of any NFL team. The rise was credited largely to the team's relocation in 2014 into revenue-rich Levi's Stadium, which will host Super Bowl 50 in February.

The 10 most valuable NFL teams (in billions):

1. Dallas Cowboys - $4.0

2. New England Patriots - $3.2

3. Washington Redskins - $2.85

4. New York Giants - $2.8

5. San Francisco 49ers - $2.7

6. New York Jets - $2.6

7. Houston Texans - $2.5

8. Chicago Bears - $2.45

9. Philadelphia Eagles - $2.4

10. Green Bay Packers - $1.95