After playing in the NFC Championship Game and everything that comes with it (division title, two playoff wins), the Detroit Lions are more popular than ever. Ford Field is so sold out that there is a waiting list for season tickets, and individual tickets will be hard to come by this year.
But even though Sheila Hamp has restored the Lions’ reputation in recent years by first hiring good people and giving them everything they needed to do their jobs to the best of their ability, this has not yet had an impact on the value of the franchise.
According to Sportico’s recently released list of the most valuable NFL franchises for 2024, the Lions rank 28th. The valuation is determined by “the sum of the enterprise value of an NFL franchise combined with the value of team-related businesses and real estate holdings.”
The Dallas Cowboys top the list with a value of $10.32 billion. After all, “America’s Team” is at the top of something. The Cowboys top the field, the rest of the top five are the Los Angeles Rams ($7.79 billion), the New York Giants ($7.65 billion), the New England Patriots ($7.31 billion) and the San Francisco 49ers ($6.86 billion).
As for the rest of the NFC North, the Chicago Bears are the highest valued (No. 11 – $6.26 billion), followed by the Green Bay Packers (No. 19 – $5.39 billion) and the Minnesota Vikings (No. 20 – $5.32 billion).
The Lions were valued at $4.93 billion for this year, up nearly 20 percent from last year, when they ranked 30th on Sportico’s list ($4.1 billion). Compared to the previous year in 2022, the Lions saw a league-wide increase in franchise value of 43 percent ($2.86 billion, 31st in 2022).
Sportico estimates the total value of the NFL’s 32 franchises at $190 billion, including team-related businesses and the owners’ real estate holdings.
Sportico data reporter Lev Akabas highlighted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a chart he shared that shows the highest percentage increases in franchise value since 2020.
The Lions rank fifth on this list and have increased their value by 130 percent during this period.
In 2020 @Sportico appreciated the @Freibeuter at 2.3 billion dollars
They just turned down an offer to sell the team for $6 billion
No franchise company has gained more value in the last 4 years (+139%) pic.twitter.com/8K1iSp1T3O
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) 14 August 2024
Because the team has gotten better on the field and the spirit is much better than before (not that it could have been any worse before Mrs. Hamp took full control and started turning things around), the value of the Lions franchise has increased accordingly. And the upswing looks set to continue for a while.
