Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys for $150 million in 1989; today, his team's worth $1.2 billion, despite the fact Chan Gailey, Dave Campo and Barry Switzer have been head coaches here during the past 17 years. Even so, that only puts the Cowboys at the No. 3 spot on Forbes' list of NFL team valuations, behind the Washington Redskins ($1.4 billion, which has to kill Jones) and the New England Patriots, who're also at about $1.2 billion. Interesting note: Jones pays his players $101 million, but only makes $36 million from gate receipts (off tickets that run an average of $66). Of course, that'll change with the opening of the new stadium in in three years.
Says the magazine about your Dallas Cowboys:
"It's been a bumpy ride for owner Jerry Jones since the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in four years in the 1990s. America's Team has had only one playoff appearance in the past seven years. But Jones and Coach Bill Parcells are gearing up for another Super Bowl run and signed NFL bad boy Terrell Owns to a three-year, $25 million contract to help. The team jacked ticket prices up 25 percent last year, the biggest rise in the league. Perhaps the 'Boys are bracing fans for the high prices that are sure to accompany the team's new stadium, set to open in 2009. The $650 million will be financed half with taxpayer money and half by the Cowboys, with Jones holding the operating keys."
Jones can't be happy with this stat: His team isn't even in the top 10 on Forbes' "Best Bang For the Buck" list. Strangely, I am. --Robert Wilonsky
