Rams Team Value from Forbes & other "Rams to LA?" posts

Tipsheet: Rams rank last in NFL team value
• By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/jeff-gordon/tipsheet-rams-rank-last-in-nfl-team-value/article_7ba86dac-e4da-55a5-831d-7be287894b1d.html

Poor Stan Kroenke. His Rams are the least valuable team in the NFL according to the latest Forbes Magazine study, worth just $930 million.

The Dallas Cowboys rated as the league’s financial MVP at $3.2 billion. The average NFL franchise is worth $1.43 million.

That is quite a discrepancy in a league where each team got $170 million in shared revenue last season — a total that will jump to $250 million within four years.

The Cowboys raked in $560 million in total revenue, compared to the Rams’ $250 million.

The Cowboys earned $246 million in operating revenue last season, compared to just $16 million for the Rams despite this team’s highly favorable lease arrangement.

This franchise has lagged behind its peers in ticket sales, premium ticket sales and sponsorship deals, largely because of its historically bad performance since the Greatest Show on Turf disbanded.

Forbes also noted:

Rounding out the top four are the New England Patriots, worth $2.6 billion, Washington Redskins, worth $2.4 billion and New York Giants, valued at $2.1 billion. Short explanation: the Cowboys, Patriots, Redskins and Giants were the only NFL teams that were among the league’s top five in both premium seating revenue (at least $55 million) and stadium sponsorship revenue (over $40 million) in 2013. Each of these four teams also saw their values climb by 39% or more the past year.

Here is the Rams’ financial nutshell from Forbes:

Price Paid: $750 million.
Year Purchased: 2010
Revenue: $250 million
Operating Income: $16.2 million
Player Expenses: $151 million
Gate Receipts: $45 million.
Wins-to-player cost ratio: 79
Revenue per Fan: $29
Metro Area Population: 2.8 million.

Naturally Forbes came to the conclusion that the Rams will move to Los Angeles after it escapes its current lease at the Edward Jones Dome after this season. The Rams will use its year-to-year status to either get a new stadium here (no small feat in the current economic and political environment) or a better deal elsewhere.

The franchise would at least double in value in Southern California if it can get a favorable stadium situation. That is the big if, of course, the factor that has kept the NFL out of LA for two decades.

GreatRamNTheSky wrote:

Just think WV, Kroenke moves the Rams to LA you can probably put the franchise right there somewhere in the top 14 and probably right next to the Dodgers at number 6.

Grits

I would think the Rams would be in the top 15 if they
moved to LA, Grits.

As long as Georgia aint the owner 🙂

Kroenke doesnt need the money
though, Grits. Its not
always, totally about money
for some of these guys.

w
v

I don’t get the Cowboys. They are a cult. They are immune to how they perform. You would think that would affect them but they still sell merchandise and tickets–across the country. I get older Cowboy fans but they have to keep growing new ones. How do they do it? I can see this generation liking the Pats or the Saints but the Cowboys? Is it the constant exposure of having them thrust upon us on national television?

Whatever it is–it works.

I can remember the Greatest Show on Turf years–the Cowboys would have at least as many if not more Monday night games. And they sucked. If the Rams had that record they couldn’t have gotten a highlight on Sportscenter.

As for the Rams moving?

Who knows?

The thing helping St. Louis is the competition in the L.A. market. But the fan base will not fully embrace a team if they think it’s leaving. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. There is a beautiful minor league stadium in my town they’re welcome to. The Pennsylvania Rams. Now that has a nice ring to it. Of course–I’ll be a fan because they never were my home team. But it will matter to some people. It sucks that this is the state of things to day. People can’t decide to emotionally invest in a local team when they don’t trust them to be there.

But that’s where we are.

The voices of Vin Scully and Chick Hearn will live with me forever.

“Chicky-baby” with his catch phrases like telling you a guy was faked out by saying he was “in the popcorn machine”… or telling you when the game was over by telling you “the lights are out, the eggs are coolin’, the butter’s gettin’ hard and the jello’s gigglin’…” even if there was 5 minutes to go.

And Vin Scully brought poetry to baseball. He could do a 10 minute intro that just would make my heart soar and would just make me EXCITED to hear about…DOOOODGER Baseball, brought to you by Farmer John.

I’ll admit to being spoiled by being able to hear two of the greatest sportscasters who will ever be as part of my formative years. Downright BLESSED.

well. if we’re to hear anything more at all about this, it wouldn’t be until next year according to farmer.

the only worry would be that as much as the owners were against the rams moving to st. louis, i think they would be that much in favor of them moving back. i think it all depends on what kroenke wants to do. i don’t think san diego will be able to stop any move back into la.

but i don’t think it’s all about getting into the top 15 of sports franchises necessarily. he does want to raise the value of the rams franchise for sure. but that could also be done by staying in st. louis and getting a new stadium. it doesn’t have to be just moving to los angeles.