Cowboys have highest value in NFL, according to Forbes

The Dallas Cowboys, the most valuable sports team in the world, are now worth $4.8 billion.

That's according to the latest NFL franchise values published by Forbes on Monday.

The publication said the value of the Cowboys, who have been the most valuable NFL team for the last 11 years, rose 14 percent over last year.

Jerry Jones paid $140 million for the Cowboys and Cowboys Stadium in 1989, which means the team is worth roughly 17 times more than what he paid for it, factoring for inflation.

Rounding out the top five are the New England Patriots ($3.7 billion), the New York Giants ($3.3 billion), the Washington Redskins ($3.1 billion) and the San Francisco 49ers ($3.05 billion).

The average team is now worth $2.52 billion, according to Forbes. That's more than double (an inflation adjusted $1.1 billion) what the teams were worth in 2007, the first full year under Roger Goodell's leadership.

The average franchise received an eight percent bump in value this year. Only one team, the New York Jets, had a value ($2.75 billion) that stayed the same as last year.

The team with the sharpest rise in value was the Atlanta Falcons, who are now worth $2.475 billion. The team rose in value by 16 percent thanks to the opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the sponsorship dollars committed.

Each NFL team received $244 million in national revenue last year, mostly from television deals. Twenty nine NFL teams are due to make $55 million each from the relocation fees of the Rams and Chargers to Los Angeles and Raiders to Las Vegas.

At $3.7 billion, the Patriots now tie the New York Yankees as the second most valuable team in the world. Rounding out the global top five, according to Forbes, is Manchested United ($3.69 billion) and FC Barcelona ($3.64 billion).