Heavy on NFL
The NFL has long been home to some of the most recognizable sports brands on the planet, their reach extending well beyond the confines of North America.
Every year, Forbes releases a list of the most valuable NFL franchises alongside their projected valuation. However, with the world becoming an ever more dynamic place, with little security for the long-term future, these valuations are subject to change far more quickly than they once were.
Of course, people will always tune in to watch icons like the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, but for the rest of the teams, much depends on fan base cultivation and on-the-field success.
Considering those factors, these are Heavy’s projected 10 most valuable NFL franchises over the next five years:
10. Chicago Bears – Current Ranking: 9
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Perhaps a little puzzling to have the Bears going down a spot despite supposedly finding their quarterback of the future in the ascending Caleb Williams. Given the exceptionally strong, broad fan base already for the league’s second oldest franchise, one imagines that the Bears’ value will not be severely impacted with improved quarterback play — especially considering the loyalty of the fans who have stuck with the team through some pretty horrendous quarterbacking years. Compared with some other, clearly ascending teams with greater room to grow, the Bears end up down a spot at No. 10.
9. Houston Texans – Current Ranking: 12
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It is hard to imagine the Texans not breaking into the Top 10 within the next half decade, given the combination of impressive head coach DeMeco Ryans and superstar quarterback sensation C.J. Stroud, who already looks on track to win his second division title in his first two years in the league. There is certainly a lag between a team generating consistent on-the-field success and subsequent valuation increase — just look at the No. 24-ranked Kansas City Chiefs. But in an already large Houston market in a state that is football above all else, it does not seem by any means inconceivable that Houston would rise three spots to enter the Top 10 — with room to go even further if Stroud delivers on current expectations.
8. San Francisco 49ers – Current Ranking: 6
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Another victim of the rise of teams currently below them, the 49ers are, without question, the most successful franchise on the west coast — or indeed in the league as a whole. The Niners are definitely not a stock worth ditching at this point, where a stable, smart franchise led by elite head coach Kyle Shanahan has them in the Super Bowl mix almost every year. Yet, it feels like with other teams generating greater and greater notoriety, and without a Patrick Mahomes, Stroud or Lamar Jackson-esque figurehead at the helm, the 49ers’ potential to skyrocket seems low. Particularly given they still share many Bay Area fans with the previously Oakland-based Raiders.
7. New York Jets – Current Ranking: 5
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As tempting as it was to drop the Jets out of this list altogether, given the seemingly constant displays of incompetence and erratic behavior — exemplified most recently by the bizarre timing of head coach Robert Saleh’s dismissal — the Jets have been a mainstay in the Top 10 Forbes lists for a reason. The New York fan base is huge, the team has a worldwide appeal (somehow), and they do still technically have Aaron Rodgers. More dysfunction and the failure to find Rodgers’ eventual replacement is the most likely outcome of the coming five years — yet it is unlikely to punish the team’s valuation greater than a couple of spots.
6. New England Patriots – Current Ranking: 3
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A tumble for the Patriots in the aftermath of the dynastic era is to be expected, particularly since legendary head coach Bill Belichick is no longer on the team, removing the last shred of that inevitable, never-count-them-out feel about the franchise. The team’s fortunes in the long run will depend on how the team rebuilds in their post-GOAT – GOAT era, one that has not started well. Five years is probably not enough time to see them outside the Top 10 — with the Northeast still very much a core football base today. But it feels like the Pats will struggle to recreate the success and star power of their six-Super Bowl stint and could well be surmounted by some up-and-coming teams.
5. Washington Commanders – Current Ranking: 10
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A team that has done incredibly well to stay within the Top 10 in 2024, considering their horrendous fortunes under old owner Dan Snyder over his 25 years in charge. A franchise with a committed fanbase in the greater DC area spanning well into Virginia, one wonders how high Washington could have been on this list had they been actually good for the past two decades. Now with the emergence of star-in-the-making Jayden Daniels, the odds-on favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, and a team that finally feels like it is heading in the right direction, the Commanders could be set to soar up these rankings as their popularity grows back to their enormous mid-’90s peak.
4. New York Giants – Current Ranking: 3
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Who knows what is in store for the New York Giants over the next five years, with all three of head coach Brian Daboll, quarterback Daniel Jones, and general manager Joe Schoen’s jobs in doubt. Outside of what now feels like an outlier, 10-7 season in 2022 — Daboll’s first in charge — the Giants have been one of the league’s worst teams for the best part of a decade. Still, the Giants are one of the other few teams with genuine international appeal, with fans all over the world wearing their iconic gear. As a result, even if the Giants continue to be one of the league’s cellar-dwellers, we cannot see them affecting their stock too much.
3. Los Angeles Rams – Current Ranking: 2
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The pro football team in LA that has actually managed to retain relevance since its move to the City of Angels, the Rams are giving the impression that they are quite possibly moving out of their Super Bowl peak and into a smooth rebuild focusing on young talent. Trades for Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are looking increasingly possible prior to the trade deadline, but it seems like the GM/head coach combination of Les Snead and Sean McVay always has this team in contention in the second-largest market in the country.
2. Kansas City Chiefs – Current Ranking: 24
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“What an improbable leap!” you may be saying. Well, that is correct — jumping 22 spots in franchise valuation is not really the done thing, but the Chiefs are hardly any old franchise. Having achieved official dynasty status last February with a third Lombardi Trophy in four years after an overtime win against the 49ers, Kansas City cemented their place in the heart of the cultural zeitgeist in managing to haul in the world’s biggest pop star and boyfriend of star tight end Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift, into their dedicated fan base. The Mahomes-Swift factor will likely pay dividends over the next year or two, as prices catch up to the Chiefs’ now worldwide fandom, and may well continue to soar with continued Kansas City success and Swift’s rise to mega-stardom.
1. Dallas Cowboys – Current Ranking: 1
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For however often they are criticized in the media for Jerry Jones’ interference, or the team’s constant underperformance in the postseason — they are currently one of only four teams to have not gone to a conference championship since the turn of the millennium — the Cowboys are still “America’s Team.” Not in the sense that they are loved and rooted for — in fact, normally quite the opposite — but in that they consistently draw the biggest audiences on primetime television and have cultivated by far the biggest domestic and international group of fans. Rules may change, quarterbacks come and go, but it would take something absolutely monumental to push the Dallas Cowboys and the Jones family off the No. 1 spot.
The list isn’t over yet! See our pick for Number 11 HERE. Sound off to let us know who we missed!
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The 10 Most Valuable NFL Franchises Over the Next 5 Years