Raphael Stevens

Tune in to CNBC all day for coverage of the Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

The average value of the NFL’s 32 franchises is $6.5 billion, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations.
Pro football teams have been a lucrative asset for owners in the most popular U.S. sports league: The returns they have seen on their initial investments dwarf the gains of traditional stocks over matching time periods.
The escalation in football team values is largely the result of the league’s massive and growing media deals as well as booming stadium businesses.

Ryan Flournoy, #18 of the Dallas Cowboys, catches a touchdown pass as Matt Hankins, #23 of the Los Angeles Chargers, defends during the first half of a preseason game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Aug. 24, 2024.
Ron Jenkins | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

A National Football League team today is a $6.5 billion business.
That is the average value of the NFL’s 32 franchises, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations. Pro football teams have been a lucrative asset for owners in the most popular U.S. sports league: The returns they have seen on their initial investments dwarf the gains of traditional stocks over matching time periods.

Take, for example, the Houston Texans, No. 11 on CNBC’s 2024 value rankings. Back in 1999, the last time the NFL expanded, the late Robert McNair agreed to buy the rights to the franchise at a purchase price of $600 million, which takes into account payment structure and the value of a deal over time. The Texans are now worth $6.35 billion, more than 10 times McNair’s fee and three times more than the gains of the S&P 500 since that year.
That’s not bad for a team that has a record of 152-202-1 over its 22 seasons and has never made it to the Super Bowl.
And the Texans aren’t alone.
Across the past 10 NFL teams to be sold, seven of the 10 outperform the S&P 500 on a percentage-gained basis in the period since the sale. The Washington Commanders and the Denver Broncos — No. 13 and No. 14 on CNBC’s 2024 team valuations list, respectively — underperform broader market gains and, notably, were sold within the past two years. The Miami Dolphins, No. 8 on CNBC’s list, also lag the S&P, but were last sold in 2009 when the stock market was emerging from a bottom after getting pummeled during the 2007-08 financial crisis.

Rising valuations

The escalation in football team values is largely the result of the league’s massive and growing media deals.

The NFL’s current television agreements with Comcast, Disney, Paramount and Fox, which began last season, are worth an average of $9.2 billion a year, 85% more than the previous deals.
Add in the streaming deals with YouTube for NFL Sunday Ticket and with Amazon Prime for Thursday Night Football, and the NFL is guaranteed an average of $12.4 billion a year through 2032 — almost double the $6.48 billion a year it collected during its previous media rights cycle.

More coverage of the 2024 Official NFL Team Valuations

On top of those bulk agreements, the league has been boosting its media revenue by selling additional streaming games.
Last season, the NFL sold exclusive streaming rights to a Wild Card playoff game to Comcast’s Peacock streaming service for $110 million, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The league sold three exclusive streaming packages for this season: two Christmas Day games on Netflix for a total of $150 million; a Wild Card game on Amazon Prime for $120 million; and an international regular-season game on Peacock for $80 million, according to the person familiar with the agreements. The league should get about $200 million for its commercial Sunday Ticket rights, which gets an array of NFL games into bars and restaurants, according to the person familiar with the matter.
All of those agreements combined bring total media rights fees to $357 million per team, up from $325 million in 2023.
CNBC sources requested anonymity to discuss the specifics of deals that aren’t publicly available.

A detail view of a broadcast camera is seen with the NFL crest and ESPN Monday Night Football logo on it during a game between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in Chicago on Dec. 20, 2021.
Icon Sportswire | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

A rising tide lifts all boats in the NFL. The 32 teams share the national media deal revenue evenly, along with money from leaguewide sponsorship and licensing deals and 34% of gate receipts. In 2023, $13.68 billion, or 67%, of the NFL’s $20.47 billion in revenue was shared equally.
When such large revenue sharing is combined with a salary cap that limits player spending to about 49% of revenue, teams in small markets such as Green Bay; Wisconsin; and Buffalo, New York, can compete with big-market teams in New York and Los Angeles. The small-market Kansas City Chiefs, No. 18 on CNBC’s 2024 valuation rankings, have won the past two Super Bowls and three of the past five.
But there is still a wide chasm in team values, largely due to stadiums. Teams do not share revenue from luxury suites, on-site restaurants, merchandise stores, sponsorships or non-NFL events at their stadiums.
Last year, that made a bigger difference than usual.

Taylor Swift performs during her The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on Aug. 7, 2023.
Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Pop star Taylor Swift performed at several NFL stadiums last year as part of her blockbuster Eras Tour, including Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium, New England’s Gillette Stadium and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. One Eras Tour stop netted $4 million in revenue per show for the hosting stadium, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential information.
The Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, also an Eras Tour stop, raked in more than $30 million last year from college football games, soccer matches, concerts, festivals and tennis matches — and it could double that this year, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Return on investment

The revenue sharing and salary-cap agreements also make the league very profitable.
During the 2023 season, the NFL’s 32 teams generated average revenue of $640 million and average operating income — earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — of $127 million. The typical NFL team has an EBITDA margin of 19%.
Financial success for the NFL has meant higher premiums for team sales.
Two years ago, Walmart heir Rob Walton bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion, or 8.8-times the team’s revenue. But these days, a prospective owner would be hard-pressed to pay less than 10-times revenue for a team. The average value-to-revenue multiple in CNBC’s 2024 ranking of all 32 teams is 10.2.
Last year, private equity billionaire Josh Harris purchased the Washington Commanders for $6.05 billion, or 11-times revenue. Earlier this year, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin made an unsolicited $6.05 billion offer for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which valued the team at 9.8-times revenue, according to a person familiar with the matter. That offer was turned down by the Glazer family, which owns the franchise.
Griffin also earlier this year offered $7.5 billion for the Miami Dolphins, or 11-times revenue, according to various media reports.
When teams do change hands, they have proven to be a smart investment.
The league’s most valuable team, the Dallas Cowboys, is worth $11 billion — 73 times what owner Jerry Jones paid for the team in 1989. The S&P 500 is up just 18-fold since Jones bought the Cowboys.

Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys attends training camp at River Ridge Complex in Oxnard, California, on July 24, 2021.
Jayne Kamin-oncea | Getty Images

The Cowboys posted by far the most revenue of any team in the league last year, at $1.22 billion, and the most operating income, at $550 million, in large part because of sponsorship revenue. Dallas is approaching an NFL-leading $250 million in revenue from sponsors, according to CNBC sources.
The Los Angeles Rams, No. 2 on CNBC’s 2024 valuations list, were also No. 2 in revenue, with $825 million. The Rams were also second in the league in sponsorship revenue and brought in some serious money by hosting more than 25 nonfootball events at SoFi Stadium, including six sold-out nights of Swift’s Eras Tour and three of Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour, as well as concerts for Ed Sheeran, Metallica and Pink.
The Rams, who were in St. Louis when sports and entertainment mogul Stanley Kroenke bought the team for $750 million in 2010, are now worth $8 billion. Even factoring in the $550 million relocation fee Kroenke had to pay the league to move the team to Los Angeles, as well as a $571 million settlement fee related to legal challenges for relocating, his investment is up more than four-fold.
The rise in NFL team values explains why private equity firms are chomping at the bit to invest in the league.
For several years now, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer have all permitted institutional investors to buy limited partner stakes in teams. European soccer leagues such as the English Premier League have also.
The NFL followed suit just last week. The league owners voted to allow a select group of private equity firms — Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners, Arctos Partners and an investing consortium made up of Dynasty Equity, Blackstone, Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners and Ludis — to take up to 10% stakes in NFL franchises. The firms committed $12 billion in capital over time, people familiar with the matter told CNBC.
Allowing private equity firms to invest in the league should make it easier to finance the purchase of a team.
Even the lowest-valued team on CNBC’s list, the Cincinnati Bengals, is worth $5.25 billion.
Factoring in the league’s maximum allowable debt of $1.4 billion, that leaves an equity burden of $3.8 billion. Assuming a general partner would hold the minimum required 30%, limited partners need to put in a combined $2.7 billion to get in the game.
Disclosure: Peacock is the streaming service of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

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NFL team owners voted to allow a select group of private equity firms to acquire up to 10% of teams as valuations skyrocket in recent deals.
The league has been slow to allow private equity investment, and beyond injecting capital, the firms will essentially be silent partners.
The NFL is the last major U.S. sports league to allow private equity to take a stake in its teams.

A detailed view of the NFL shield logo on the field during a preseason game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium in Houston on Aug. 24, 2024.
Ric Tapia | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The National Football League is opening its gates to private equity investors — but it is limiting their involvement in the league for now.
Last week, NFL team owners voted to allow an initial group of private equity firms to acquire up to a 10% stake of a franchise. Still, the investors are meant to take silent roles in the U.S.’ most exclusive professional sports club.

The vote followed extended discussions, and the NFL had the benefit of seeing how private equity ownership played out in other major U.S. leagues, which have allowed it since 2019.
“It really means big sports is an investment class right now,” Bain Capital co-chair Steve Pagliuca said on CNBC last week. “This isn’t a case where private equity is going to come in and have influence on the franchise.”
Many teams will likely welcome private equity’s deep pockets, industry experts said. The funding could go toward stadium upgrades and construction. It could also help to cushion the skyrocketing valuations of teams, worth an average of $6.49 billion, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations.
While the league and its owners will welcome private equity cash, it will not give the firms a full seat at the table.

More coverage of the 2024 Official NFL Team Valuations

NFL teams have traditionally been owned by families — sometimes for multiple generations — and high net worth individuals. Purchase prices for franchises have skyrocketed in recent years, as the Washington Commanders sold for $6.25 billion in 2023, the Denver Broncos changed hands for a price of $6.2 billion in 2022 and the Carolina Panthers sold in 2018 for $2.275 billion.

“The problem is that not many people can afford a team anymore. How many families have that much money?” said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at Perkins Coie. “So there is a liquidity problem if you don’t let more entities into the market as buyers. It will ultimately help valuations. This is a no-brainer.”
For team-owning families facing estate taxes, offloading a stake to private equity also opens up breathing room.
“You can use this additional liquidity to go in any direction. That 10% from private equity represents an opportunity but not a requirement,” said Anthony Mulrain, co-chair of law firm Holland & Knight’s sports industry team, adding that having access to private equity funds allows them to make those payments.

One toe in

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney steps into the end zone and scores a touchdown during Super Bowl LVII between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Feb. 12, 2023.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images

The NFL is the last major U.S. sports league to allow private equity to take a stake in its teams, and the league was likely observing them closely.
Since 2019, the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer have begun to allow private equity ownership of up to 30% of teams.
“The NFL has been very thoughtful in its approach,” said Michael Considine, a partner at Kirkland & Ellis who leads the law firm’s pro sports efforts. “Just like in every other league that has created rules around institutional capital, these rules are created to protect the integrity of the game.”
Under the NFL’s rules, each fund or consortium will be able to do deals with up to six teams. The minimum hold period for their investments would be six years.
The league has also informally told owners and the investment firms that it intends to take a percentage of private equity profits on future sales of ownership stakes, CNBC previously reported. No other league takes a percentage of the so-called carry — a fund’s investment profits that managers typically receive as compensation.
“We thought that a minimal, and it’s very minimal — the number hasn’t been finalized yet — sharing of the profits is equitable and the private equity groups agreed,” said Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on CNBC.
Private equity has been eager to take stakes in sports as team valuations rise, mainly due to ballooning media rights deals. But the industry will have little to do with the teams beyond supplying funding.
As investors, private equity firms often take management and board roles. The playbook for sports is different, especially in the U.S., where firms do not get much control over operations and team personnel.
While pro sports teams, especially in the NFL, tend to be a recession-proof investment, the limited partners that deploy their capital into private equity funds could still face some challenges.
Private equity investments typically have a set duration — it can range from three to seven years in many cases — and an expected return. Investments in sports teams do not offer a clear exit or a path to control, nor do they typically allow governance, which may chafe against some limited partner requirements in funds, said some private equity investors who preferred not to be named due to their investments.
“These ownership interests are basically those of a silent partner, so nothing changes for the team. It’s business as usual,” said Holland & Knight’s Mulrain.
“But many private equity firms make investments of two things: cash and human capital. So there may be some management ingenuity where the investors whisper into the owners’ ears when it comes to connectivity of the franchise and other businesses,” Mulrain added.

Deep benches

Buffalo Bills defensive line coach Eric Washington reviews plays on a Microsoft Surface tablet.
Robin Alam | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

The NFL’s reluctance to allow private equity investment shows not only in how long it took, but also in the short list of investors initially approved to enter the mix.
Collectively, these investors have $2 trillion in assets and intend to commit $12 billion of capital to be raised, inclusive of leverage, over time, CNBC previously reported.
The approved funds each have a track record of investing in sports, as well as a large amount of money at their disposal.
The three individual firms that were given approval to invest in NFL teams have amassed a deep bench of investments in a short time period.
While Ares Management is a behemoth across the board as an investor, it officially planted its flag in sports in 2022 when it raised a $3.7 billion fund dedicated exclusively to sports and media. The fund also has an advisory board consisting of former players and sports and media executives. The firm has already been part of various transactions involving either equity or debt, in teams including European soccer’s Atletico de Madrid, MLB’s San Diego Padres and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators, among others.
One of the newer investors on the approved list, Arctos Partners, has a deep bench of team investments that put it among the likely NFL investors as league discussions occurred, according to people familiar with the matter.
Founded in 2019, the firm closed its second sports-focused fund earlier this year, totaling $4.1 billion in commitments. This was a quick follow-up to its first fund, which had closed with more than $3 billion in assets under management.
In that time, Arctos has acquired roughly two dozen stakes in sports and e-sports teams, including the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and MLS’ Real Salt Lake. It also owns stakes in Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, the owner of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, along with Fenway Sports Group, parent of the MLB’s Boston Red Sox and NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
Arctos also owns a stake in the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, which is up for sale. Arctos is expected to exit its stake as part of the process, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Arctos would be the only firm approved to invest in equity across each of the five most-popular major North American sports leagues, pending final approval.
Sixth Street Partners, another firm among the initial circle of investors that can take a stake in NFL teams, invests across various industries, but has been quickly growing its footprint in media and sports. The firm has invested in the NWSL’s Bay F.C., the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and Spanish soccer’s Real Madrid, as well as media rights in Spanish league soccer.
In addition to these three firms, a consortium made up of Dynasty Equity, Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners and Ludis, a platform founded by investor and former NFL running back Curtis Martin, is able to acquire stakes in teams.
The investors declined to comment beyond earlier statements released after the NFL vote.

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NFL owners are content to hold on to their teams as valuations soar.
The Seattle Seahawks will likely change majority ownership in the coming years.
Beyond the Seahawks, it’s difficult to name another clear candidate.
A new rule allowing private equity ownership of up to 10% of teams can give owners more liquidity if they want to sell a small stake in their team.

Abbie Parr | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

The Seattle Seahawks may be the next National Football League team to sell. Beyond that, it’s anyone’s guess when another franchise will change hands.
Former Seahawks owner and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died in 2018. Since Allen’s death, the team has been controlled by a trust run by Allen’s sister, Jody. Allen’s estate calls for the team to eventually be sold, with the proceeds going to charity. But there’s no clear timetable for a transaction to take place.

Allen’s trust has reason to wait — and it’s the same logic for why other team owners may not sell any time soon.
NFL valuations will likely keep rising in the years to come because of the league’s media rights deal, expansion and the addition of games, according to Marc Ganis, a sports consultant who advises NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and league owners. Owners risk missing big gains if they offload teams now.
“We are not even close to the top of the market for the NFL,” said Ganis. “The NFL is still in a growth phase in terms of appreciation and in terms of net revenue.” 
The average NFL team is now worth $6.49 billion, and no team is valued at less than $5.25 billion, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations. Seven of the last 10 NFL teams to be sold outperform the S&P 500 on a percentage-gained basis since the sale.

More coverage of the 2024 Official NFL Team Valuations

Driven by growth in leaguewide media, sponsorship and licensing deals — which are split among all 32 teams — the average franchise had $640 million in revenue and $127 million in operating income last year, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.

The NFL’s new media rights deal fully kicked in last year. It’s an 11-year agreement that runs through 2033 and is worth more than $110 billion — an 80% increase from the league’s previous deal. There’s also a clause that allows the league to opt out of all packages except Disney’s at the end of the 2028-2029 season; the NFL has an out clause for Disney’s deal after 2030.
That option will give owners another chance at cashing in after the National Basketball Association nearly tripled the value of its own media rights in July. Hypothetical future bids from deep-pocketed technology companies such as Amazon, Netflix and Alphabet’s YouTube may lead to surges in value for the NFL’s most-watched games. TV ratings continue to increase: The 2023-24 season’s ratings jumped 7% from a year earlier, ending as the second-highest rated since data was first tracked in 1995.
“The NFL is the largest and most valuable audience in the U.S. for advertisers,” said Neal Pilson, former president of CBS Sports and founder and president of Pilson Communications. “The NBA deal will be a benchmark, but it will also be ancient history by the time the NFL renews, even if it opts out. That’s still four years away. Everyone is aware of how well the NBA did. But in the end, the NFL’s rights deal will be predicated on its audience and the revenue third parties think it can generate from being a partner.”
The expected addition of an 18th regular season game in the coming years and Goodell’s interest in boosting the NFL’s popularity internationally by adding games in Spain, Germany and Brazil should also lead to increased league revenue and higher valuations, said Ganis.
“The NFL has barely scratched the surface on international revenues,” he said.

Illiquid market

An NFL team is sold about once every 3½ years, Ganis said. Those sales are typically driven by death or scandal — making it tricky to predict when another team could change hands.
The last NFL franchise to sell was the Washington Commanders — a deal completed in 2023 after league owners effectively forced Daniel Snyder to relinquish the team amid allegations of sexual harassment and a toxic workplace. Josh Harris, who also owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils, bought the Commanders for a record $6 billion.
Each of the last four NFL team sales has set a new record, showcasing the rise in valuations. Billionaire businessman Terry Pegula and his wife, Kim, acquired the Buffalo Bills in 2014 for $1.4 billion after the death of Ralph Wilson, the franchise’s founding owner. That sum was topped in 2018 by hedge fund manager David Tepper’s purchase of the Carolina Panthers for $2.3 billion. The Panthers sold after the NFL fined previous owner Jerry Richardson for workplace misconduct.
Rob Walton, a member of the family that owns Walmart, led a group that bought the Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion in 2022 after the death of Pat Bowlen.
Those investments have ballooned in a few short years. Today, the Bills are worth $5.35 billion, the Panthers are valued at $5.9 billion, and the Broncos’ value has increased to $6.2 billion, according to CNBC’s 2024 Valuations.
The NFL prefers to have owners that span decades because they’ll favor long-term decision-making over short-term profits, said Ganis. Modernized estate planning to reduce taxes has led to more family handoffs from one generation to another, he said.
That has further decreased full-franchise sales. The NFL mandates every team have a written succession plan in case its owner dies. The Chicago Bears are currently owned by 101-year-old Virginia Halas McCaskey, the daughter of team founder George Halas. As planned, when McCaskey dies, the Bears ownership will be distributed among her children and controlled by her eighth-oldest child, George McCaskey, the 68-year-old who currently is the team’s chairman.
“The league’s decision-makers have enormous skin in the game,” said Ganis. “They’re not paid employees with voting rights. They’re making choices thinking generationally.”

Private equity’s role

Limited franchise turnover and soaring valuations have led Goodell to favor allowing private equity ownership for the first time. NFL owners voted last week to allow select private equity firms to buy up to a 10% stake of a team. Each fund or consortium will be able to do deals with up to six teams.
The Miami Dolphins, the Bills and the Los Angeles Chargers are among the teams that will likely explore selling minority stakes to private equity, according to people familiar with the matter. The Bills are considering selling up to 25% of the team in total.
Spokespeople for those three teams declined to comment.
The initial firms approved to invest are Ares Management, Sixth Street Partners and Arctos Partners, as well as a consortium that includes Dynasty Equity, Blackstone, Carlyle Group, CVC Capital Partners and Ludis, a platform founded by investor and former NFL running back Curtis Martin. That list is likely to grow with time, said Tracy Gallagher, head of private investments at Arta Finance, a digital wealth management platform.
“The NFL has clearly put liquidity at the forefront,” said Gallagher. “This is the first of many steps toward adding more buyer options.”
The league is treading carefully and taking baby steps with private equity ownership. The NBA, the NHL and Major League Baseball allow up to 30% ownership by private equity firms. The NFL has limited ownership to 10% with select firms and intends to take a percentage of the so-called carry — the profit that fund managers keep after hitting return thresholds for their limited partners.
“I think our league is unique in that we still have 32 individual owners,” said Robert Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, in a CNBC interview Aug. 28. “We have a very special culture and we wanted to be mindful that we didn’t do anything to change the substance of what makes our league so great.”
“Some of the ownership groups have real problems with the illiquidity,” he said. “They have big families and have to solve a lot of problems that are not usual. And so we thought this was a great source of capital and could be done in a way that was very functional and wouldn’t affect the [team] operation,” he added.
Kraft told CNBC the league’s hesitancy to allow more than 10% private equity ownership was about highlighting teams’ roles in their local communities over making money.
“Limiting the investment to 10% is a way to keep it under control, from our point of view,” he said.
Still, the league’s onerous restrictions may limit investment interest, even as NFL franchises have a clear upward valuation trajectory, said Gallagher.
“These are crown jewel assets, but at the end of the day, private equity managers get wealthy on carry,” said Gallagher. “If you take away a portion of that, you’re taking away incentive to buy these assets.”
Gallagher also noted other standard private equity investments have downside protection and offer board seats in case valuations plummet. The NFL doesn’t have plans to allow governance rights to private equity firms at this point.
“It will be very interesting to see what exactly funds are buying and how are they protected to deliver returns to their end investors,” said Gallagher.
WATCH: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft on new NFL private equity rules

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Beyond Meat plans to launch a whole-muscle steak alternative that mimics the taste and texture of a filet.
The plant-based meat company announced a turnaround plan earlier this year and is hoping to revive sales.
Beyond is hoping to win over consumers who thought its products were too processed by trimming its ingredient lists and focusing its marketing on the benefits of a plant-based diet.

Beyond Meat in El Segundo, California, on May 30, 2024.
Christina House | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

Beyond Meat will introduce a whole-muscle steak alternative as part of its pivot to win over health-conscious consumers.
CEO Ethan Brown said on Wednesday that the rollout will likely include a partnership with a restaurant chain known for serving healthier food, a departure from its prior strategy of teaming up with fast-food chains such as Dunkin’ and McDonald’s.

More than six months ago, Beyond announced a turnaround strategy that included cutting costs, hiking prices and discontinuing the jerky product it made through a joint venture with PepsiCo. To revive slumping sales, the company’s marketing has focused on the health benefits of eating a plant-based diet through partnerships with organizations such as the American Cancer Society and influencer deals with college athletes. While health has always been a part of Beyond’s pitch to consumers, the company used to put more emphasis on climate change, too.
In recent months, Brown has blamed some of the plant-based meat industry’s woes on misinformation from the meat industry and cattle farmers, such as skepticism about plant-based meat’s processing.
Beyond already sells plant-based steak tips, but the new product mimics the texture of a filet with mycelium, the rootlike part of fungi. Brown envisions the steak alternative as a substitute for chicken, topping salads and stuffing burritos as a source of protein.
“The focus on this has been a very small number of ingredients, very high protein, very low saturated fat,” he said.
The company is also rolling out reformulated versions of its Beyond Burger and Beyond Chicken to grocery stores. The new products have short ingredients lists, in the hopes of winning over customers who previously thought plant-based meat was too processed.

Beyond declined to share any details on the timing of the launches for its latest steak or chicken options.

Losing diners and investors

Beyond’s market value once topped $14 billion, fueling broader investment into plant-based meat and a flood of competitors.
But these days, the company has a market cap under $400 million, reflecting investors’ concerns about the health of the business and the industry’s struggling sales. Its stock has lost a third of its value in 2024.
In the second quarter, Beyond reported net sales of $93.2 million, down 8.8% from the year-ago period and a 37% tumble from its second quarter in 2021.
After Beyond went public five years ago, its stock soared as more consumers bought its plant-based meat at grocery stores and fast-food restaurants such as Dunkin’. The Covid-19 pandemic further boosted sales as lockdowns encouraged more at-home cooking — but the lift did not last.
Buzzy partnerships with restaurant giants such as McDonald’s and Yum Brands did not lead to permanent menu items in the U.S., although Beyond has had more success with the chains’ European markets. Its joint venture with PepsiCo led to a single product, its now-discontinued jerky that weighed on its margins for several quarters.
At the same time, the broader category started struggling. Consumers lost interest in trying plant-based meat, often complaining about the taste or concerns about its processing.
Sales of plant-based foods, which includes milk, meat, egg and butter alternatives, rose just 1% to $8.1 billion last year, according to data from the Plant Based Foods Association. The milk alternatives segment accounts for roughly a quarter of the category’s total retail sales, followed by plant-based meat.
As consumers’ tastes shifted away, investors also lost interest.
Kellogg mulled spinning off or selling its plant-based business in a broader three-part split of the company, but ultimately opted to keep it part of Kellanova, its snacking spinoff that Mars is buying. Impossible Foods has been rumored to be considering an initial public offering since 2021, but the company’s CEO said earlier this year that it could sell or go public in the next three years, a much longer time horizon.
However, Beyond has no plans to sell itself, Brown told CNBC.

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The NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, No. 2 on CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations list, are worth $8 billion — more than $2 billion more than the Los Angeles Chargers.
The gap in value comes down to stadium economics.
Both teams play in SoFi Stadium, which Rams owner Stanley Kroenke financed to the tune of $5 billion.
Kroenke owns and operates SoFi Stadium.

Los Angeles Rams owner Stanley Kroenke speaks during the “Football Meets Football” Youth Clinic at the Rams NFL training camp on the Loyola Marymount University campus in Los Angeles on July 26, 2024.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images

There is a $2 billion gulf growing in Los Angeles.
The National Football League’s Los Angeles Rams, No. 2 on CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations list, are worth $8 billion, while the Los Angeles Chargers rank 26th at a value of $5.83 billion.

While the Rams have a recent Super Bowl to their name and the Chargers don’t, the gap in value is about much more than team performance. It comes down to stadium economics.
Both teams play in SoFi Stadium, which Rams owner Stanley Kroenke financed to the tune of more than $5 billion. Kroenke owns and operates the stadium. The Chargers, owned by the Spanos family, are just tenants.
The Rams get about 85% of the stadium’s revenue from luxury suites and sponsorships, as well as all the revenue from non-NFL events, according to a person familiar with the matter. That leaves about 15% of suite and sponsorship revenue for the Chargers — and no money from non-NFL events.
That means, for example, when pop star Taylor Swift sold out six nights at SoFi Stadium in August 2023 during her Eras Tour, the Chargers got no piece of the pie.
The mega tour was a boon for several NFL teams last year. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that a particular stop on the Eras Tour netted $4 million in revenue per show for the hosting stadium.

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Stadium economics count a lot in the pecking order of NFL valuations because $13.68 billion, or 67%, of the league’s $20.47 billion in revenue was shared equally among the 32 teams in 2023. The vast majority of that $13.68 billion comes from national media rights plus sponsorship and licensing deals. But teams do not share revenue from stadium suites, hospitality and sponsorships — and that is where some franchises can pull away in value.
On top of the six Swift concerts, SoFi Stadium also hosted performances last year by Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Metallica and Pink. The Rams would keep 100% of that revenue.
The franchise also gets to keep the full $625 million of SoFi’s stadium naming rights, which last 20 years through the 2039 season.
It is a unique revenue share structure in the NFL. The only other franchises to share a stadium, the New York Giants and the New York Jets, split stadium revenue down the middle, according to CNBC sources, and are just about $500 million apart in overall franchise value, according to CNBC’s 2024 list. That is a significantly smaller margin than the LA teams.
Last year, the Rams were second in the NFL in sponsorship revenue, behind only the Dallas Cowboys, who are No. 1 in overall value on CNBC’s 2024 list and are fast approaching $250 million in sponsorship revenue, according to a person familiar with the team’s finances.
The Rams’ sponsorship revenue came in under $200 million last year, according to a person familiar with that team.
Of course, building your own stadium does not come without risk. SoFi Stadium cost more than $5 billion — the most of any stadium in the world — and the Rams have $3.5 billion of debt, by far the most in the NFL.
But the risk appears to have paid off.
When Kroenke bought the Rams for $750 million in 2010, the team was in St. Louis. He moved the franchise to Los Angeles for the 2016 season at a huge expense: Kroenke had to pay the league a relocation fee of $550 million and an additional $571 million settlement fee related to a lawsuit the city of St. Louis filed over the decision to bolt to California.
Still, including that combined $1.12 billion in fees, Kroenke’s investment in the Rams is up more than four-fold since he took control of the franchise. Since moving to Los Angeles, the Rams have made the playoffs five times and have been to the Super Bowl twice, capturing the Lombardi Trophy in 2021.
The Chargers, who moved to Los Angeles in 2017, have made it to the playoffs just twice since and have never advanced beyond the divisional round.
The Spanos family hasn’t done too badly, though. The late Alex Spanos purchased the then-San Diego Chargers in 1984 for $72 million. Similar to the Rams, the Chargers had to pay a $550 million relocation fee. Including the fee, the value of the team has increased 81-fold since August 1984. Over the same span, the S&P 500 is up 53-fold.
In stock market parlance, think of the Rams as a growth stock and the Chargers as a dividend play.

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Thirty-five years after Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys, the team is worth a staggering $11 billion, $3 billion more than any other team in the NFL, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations unveiled Thursday.
On the path to profits, Jones made a series of bold moves that have set new standards for league ownership and delivered a massive return on his investment.
This year, the franchise could hit $250 million in sponsorship revenue, at least $50 million more than any other team, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.

DaRon Bland, #26 of the Dallas Cowboys, celebrates after an interception returned for a touchdown in the game against the Washington Commanders during the fourth quarter at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 23, 2023.
Ron Jenkins | Getty Images

When Jerry Jones plunked down $150 million to buy the Dallas Cowboys in 1989, the team was losing $1 million a month, according to Jones.
Back then, there were plenty of empty seats and suites at Texas Stadium. The oilman had borrowed every nickel he could to buy the Cowboys, so he had to act fast — both on the field and off it — to make the team profitable.

And he did.
Thirty-five years later, the Cowboys are worth a staggering $11 billion, $3 billion more than any other team in the National Football League, according to CNBC’s Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations unveiled Thursday.
The Cowboys generated $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023, nearly $400 million more than the Los Angeles Rams, who were second in the league in revenue, according to CNBC’s rankings. The Cowboys are the most profitable in the NFL, posting EBITDA of $550 million last season, $300 million more than the New England Patriots, the second-most profitable NFL team, according to CNBC’s list.

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On the path to profits, Jones made a series of bold moves that have set new standards for league ownership and delivered a massive return on his investment.
When Jones took over in 1989, he immediately fired legendary coach Tom Landry and hired his former teammate from his Arkansas college football days, Jimmy Johnson. In 1989, Jones traded his best player, Herschel Walker, in a deal that landed the Cowboys four players and several draft picks that would yield players such as Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson.

By 1992, the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. The team won again in 1993 and then in 1995 with Barry Switzer as the coach.
Jones also innovated quickly off the field. He knew that while revenue from sponsorship deals with the NFL was split evenly among the teams, he could keep all stadium sponsorship money. Jones became the first NFL owner to get his own sponsorship deals at Texas Stadium, the Cowboys’ former home, in 1995.
He targeted brands such as American Express and Pepsi to be stadium sponsors — at the time, their respective rivals Visa and Coca-Cola had deals with the NFL. He also went after Nike, which did not have a deal with NFL Properties, the licensing arm of the league. In 1995, Jones signed a 10-year, $40 million deal with Pepsi-Cola and made a $2.5 million a year, 10-year deal with Nike.
Sponsorship agreements have been a huge boon to the Cowboys. This year, the franchise could hit $250 million in sponsorship revenue, at least $50 million more than any other team, according to people familiar with the teams’ finances.
The value of the Cowboys’ sponsorship deals has ballooned over the years. The Cowboys moved into their new stadium in 2009. In 2013, the building was renamed AT&T Stadium when Jones inked a long-term deal worth about $20 million a year. By 2021, Jones had announced a 10-year, $200 million extension of a deal with Molson Coors.

The Dallas Cowboys defense celebrates in the end zone after cornerback DaRon Bland, #26, caught an interception during a game against the Seattle Seahawks at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 30, 2023.
Ryan Kang | Getty Images

The city of Arlington owns AT&T Stadium, but Jones has operating rights, meaning he receives the revenue from the events. The busier it is, the more money he makes. Jones also has the right to purchase AT&T Stadium for just $10 at any point until the Cowboys’ lease expires in 2039, according to a person familiar with the team’s agreement with the city.
And although the Cowboys have not been to the Super Bowl in 29 years, they are a perennial playoff team, and seats and suites are almost always full.
Even outside football, the stadium is rarely vacant. This year, Jones will host Monster Jam; a professional boxing match with Mike Tyson; the Big 12 college football championship game; high school football; and Professional Bull Riders. Like with stadium sponsorships, Jones does not have to share any of this money with the league’s other 31 owners.
Jones, who is also the general manager of the Cowboys, gets plenty of criticism for not getting back to the Super Bowl since 1995. But there is no doubt he created the economic blueprint for an NFL team. The Cowboys, at $11 billion, are up 73-fold from the price Jones paid for the team to today, versus just an 18-fold increase in the S&P 500 during the same period.

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Tune in to CNBC all day for coverage of the Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

News, insights and analysis on what professional sports teams are worth.

CNBC Official 2024 NFL Team Valuations

Join us on Sept. 10 in Los Angeles for CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan. This high-powered event brings together industry leaders, visionaries and influencers, along with executives and investors to explore the dynamic intersection of business, sports, music and entertainment. For more information and to request an invitation, click here. More