Franchise Payers : Cowboys Rated Most Valuable at $272 Million, Well Ahead of Any Local Team

In the market to buy a professional sports team? Want something nice, but don’t want to spend too much?

Right this way . . . past this fancy display counter . . . back here toward these big bargain bins . . . there . . . this blue thing held together with plastic ties.

So. How would you like the Dodgers?

Believe it or not, the franchise once believed to be the most valuable among the four major professional sports ranks only 38th in a recent survey by Financial World magazine.

The Dodgers, valued at $147 million, were judged to be less valuable than everyone from the No. 1-ranked Dallas Cowboys ($272 million) to the Cincinnati Bengals ($171 million) to the . . . $151-million Cleveland Cavaliers?

Believe it. The NFL’s labor stability and TV contract and the NBA’s marketing skills have pushed both sports far past baseball.

Of the 36 teams ahead of the Dodgers, 27 are in the NFL, six are in the NBA, and four are in baseball.

The survey showed, among other things, that Georgia Frontiere knows a good deal when she sees one. By moving the Rams to St. Louis, she increased the value of her franchise 26%, to $193 million, the third-highest change among all major league sports teams.

Al Davis’ move back to Oakland increased the value of the Raiders by 12%, to $162 million. But the Raiders are one of only five franchises in the top 30 considered to be a “high” financial risk, according to the survey.

The Lakers were the local winners, ranking 18th with a value of $171 million. Then came the Dodgers, followed by the 74th-ranked Mighty Ducks ($99 million), the 85th-ranked Angels ($90 million), the 87th-ranked Clippers ($89 million) and the 90th-ranked Kings ($78 million).

Both local hockey teams dropped in value last year, with the Mighty Ducks falling 9% and the Kings falling 3%.

The bad news for the NHL is that the Winnipeg Jets ranked 111th, dead last, at $34 million. The good news for the NHL is that next year, the team will playing in Phoenix.

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MAJOR LEAGUE FRANCHISE VALUES

Total dollar values for major league franchises (Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and NHL--111 in all) in North America as appraised by Financial World magazine, which also equated the change in percentage. All figures in millions. (Note: Toronto and Vancouver of NBA not included:)

NFL (Top 15)

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Franchise 1996 1995 +/- 1. Dallas Cowboys 272 238 +14 2. Miami Dolphins 214 186 +15 3. Baltimore Ravens 201 163 +23 4. San Francisco 49ers 196 186 +5 5. St. Louis Rams 193 153 +26 6. Philadelphia Eagles 192 182 +5 7. Buffalo Bills 188 172 +9 8. Kansas City Chiefs 188 172 +9 9. New Orleans Saints 184 171 +7 10. Washington Redskins 184 151 +22 11. Chicago Bears 184 161 +14 12. New York Giants 183 168 +9 13. Cincinnati Bengals 171 137 +24 14. CHARGERS 169 153 +10 15. Minnesota Vikings 167 154 +9

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BASEBALL (Top 13 + Southland)

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Franchise 1996 1995 +/- 1. New York Yankees 209 185 +13 2. Baltimore Orioles 168 164 +2 3. Atlanta Braves 163 120 +36 4. Toronto Blue Jays 152 146 +4 5. DODGERS 147 143 +3 6. Chicago White Sox 144 152 -5 7. Boston Red Sox 143 143 0 8. Chicago Cubs 140 135 +3 9. Texas Rangers 138 157 -12 10. Colorado Rockies 133 117 +13 11. New York Mets 131 134 -2 12. Cleveland Indians 125 103 +21 13. San Francisco Giants 122 102 +19 22. ANGELS 90 88 +2 27. PADRES 67 74 -9

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OVERALL (+ Southland)

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Franchise 1996 1995 +/- 1. Dallas Cowboys 272 238 +14 2. Miami Dolphins 214 186 +15 3. New York Yankees 209 185 +13 4. New York Knicks 205 173 +18 5. Baltimore Ravens 201 163 +23 6. San Francisco 49ers 196 186 +5 7. St. Louis Rams 193 153 +26 8. Philadelphia Eagles 192 182 +5 18. LAKERS 171 169 +1 38. DODGERS 147 143 +3 74. MIGHTY DUCKS 99 108 -9 85. ANGELS 90 88 +2 87. CLIPPERS 89 87 +3 90. KINGS 78 81 -3 98. PADRES 67 74 -9

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NBA (Top 14 + Southland)

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Franchise 1996 1995 +/- 1. New York Knicks 205 173 +18 2. Phoenix Suns 191 156 +22 3. Detroit Pistons 185 180 +3 4. Chicago Bulls 178 166 +7 5. LAKERS 171 169 +1 6. Cleveland Cavaliers 151 133 +13 7. Utah Jazz 142 127 +11 8. Portland Trail Blazers 137 132 +4 9. Boston Celtics 134 127 +5 10. Seattle SuperSonics 129 119 +9 11. San Antonio Spurs 126 110 +15 12. Orlando Magic 122 101 +21 13. Houston Rockets 116 95 +23 14. Sacramento Kings 114 108 +6 29. CLIPPERS 89 87 +3

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NHL (Top 15)

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Franchise 1996 1995 +/- 1. Detroit Red Wings 126 124 +2 2. Chicago Blackhawks 122 102 +19 3. New York Rangers 118 108 +10 4. Boston Bruins 111 106 +4 5. Philadelphia Flyers 102 85 +19 6. MIGHTY DUCKS 99 108 -9 7. Toronto Maple Leafs 96 90 +6 8. Vancouver Canucks 91 87 +5 9. Montreal Canadiens 86 86 0 10. KINGS 78 81 -3 11. San Jose Sharks 77 66 +17 12. Pittsburgh Penguins 76 75 +1 13. St. Louis Blues 74 69 +7 14. Washington Capitals 70 59 +18 15. Buffalo Sabres 65 60 +9

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