Are the Dallas Cowboys worth $10bn? Jerry Jones Says He Won't Sell for Anything Less
Jerry Jones is unlikely to sell the Dallas Cowboys anytime soon but if he were to do so he would not part ways with the franchise for less than $10 billion.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Dallas Morning News, the 76-year-old tycoon reiterated he has no intention of selling the franchise he purchased for $150 million in 1989 and insisted only an astronomical figure could change his mind.
"If I had to sell the team tomorrow I wouldn't accept anything less than $10 billion," he said.
"But, I don't want to imply that I would take $10 billion for them. The Cowboys are just not for sale.
"They're a long-term asset and my immediate family—which has been a part of making them what they are today—they'll own the Cowboys long after I'm gone."
Considering the Carolina Panthers became the most expensive franchise in NFL history—and in any other sport, for that matter—when they were sold earlier this year for $2.3 billion, the figure quoted by Jones might seem completely absurd.
However, the tycoon was adamant in his belief the $10 billion price tag he slapped on the Cowboys was justified.
"I don't say $10 billion just to say a ridiculous number," he explained.
"I just think you really have to go on what people would pay. I don't want to say at least $10 billion but I certainly think you can justify a $10 billion value, but economically I'd rather have the Cowboys than the $10 billion."
Obviously an organization's valuation matters only if the owner is prepared to sell and Jones has made clear he has not even begun to entertain the idea.
At the same time, it is hard to disagree with him when he considers the Cowboys financially superior to the other 31 NFL franchises. In September, Forbes ranked the five-time Super Bowl winners as the most valuable sport franchise in the world.
The Cowboys were valued at $5 billion, approximately $200 million more than second-placed Manchester United. Forbes' valuation of the franchise was also approximately $1 billion higher than that of any other NFL team and meant the Cowboys were the most valuable franchise in the NFL for the 12th consecutive year.
That is a remarkable achievement in itself given all the 32 NFL franchises feature in the top-50 of the most valuable sport teams in the world. It is also striking that the Cowboys' financial valuation has not been affected by a lack of success on the field. Having won three Super Bowls in four years under Jones, the Cowboys have not made it back to the most important game in football since the last of those triumphs, which came in 1995.
Dallas has only made the playoffs three times in the last decade, but have the chance to make it to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 this year as they are second in the NFC East.
The Cowboys' 22-19 win against Atlanta on Sunday was their second in a row and saw them improve their record to 5-5.
