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NFL franchise values are growing at an astonishing rate

It’s hard to find any business in the United States that is much more successful than the National Football League.

There likely aren’t too many companies that have been around since 1920, yet still grew at the rate of 19 percent over the past year. Forbes magazine said NFL franchises are now worth $2.34 billion on average, and that’s a 19 percent bump from last year.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (AP)
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (AP)

Say what you will about the product on the field, or the issues off the field. Complain about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, or send another email about how you won’t watch the league anymore over national-anthem protests. That’s all just noise. The NFL is growing at a rate any 96-year-old business — which hasn’t drastically changed the basic foundation of its product in all those years — shouldn’t still be growing in 2016. Ask around and see how many corporations would love to get a 19 percent hike in the value of their business in the next year.

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What’s causing this increase? Forbes mentioned four factors: the new “Thursday Night Football” television rights package, the Rams moving from St. Louis to the much bigger market of Los Angeles, the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium and the soon-to-be completed Atlanta Falcons new stadium.

The Dallas Cowboys still check in at No. 1 among NFL teams, at $4.2 billion. Forbes said earlier this summer that the Cowboys for the first time took over the title of the most valuable franchise in all of sports. The New England Patriots ($3.4 billion), New York Giants ($3.1 billion), San Francisco 49ers ($3 billion) and Washington Redskins ($2.95 billion) round out the top five. The Redskins’ inclusion in the top five is a bit surprising, because they have a stadium they desperately want to replace and they haven’t had much success on the field this century. It shows Washington could challenge Dallas for the “most valuable” title at some point soon.

There’s even more growth possible for the NFL teams. The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are trying hard to get new stadiums. The league feels that holding games in other continents will help its bottom line. TV deals are probably going to increase in the future, because there’s no sign of the NFL becoming less valuable to networks.

Just remember that when you tune in to games this Sunday. You’ll be watching one of the truly great American business success stories unfold in front of you.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!