Raiders continue to cash in on Las Vegas relocation

The Raiders have jumped from being the 31st-most valuable team out of the 32 NFL clubs to the ninth, according to the latest valuation reported Monday by Forbes.

Between 2021 and 2022 alone, the Raiders’ value jumped from $3.4 billion to $5.1 billion — a 49-percent increase. That’s the biggest year-over-year increase of any NFL franchise.

“As for the Raiders, in particular, it was really hard to tell the first year in their new stadium the impact exactly,” said Michael Ozanian of Forbes, who helped create the valuation list. “We know the PSLs sold well, but it was really tough to tell sponsorships and advertising and also because of the pandemic, what actually was going to be the response from fans and the crowd. Could it be sustainable? What we’re seeing is that it is.”

The team’s value has continued to climb since relocation chatter began in 2015, going from $2.1 billion in 2016 to $2.4 billion in 2017 and 2018, to $2.9 billion in 2019 and $3.1 billion in 2020.

Personal seat licenses for Raiders games at Allegiant Stadium sold out before the $2 billion facility was completed, netting the team $549 million. Those PSLs give the holders rights to buy season tickets each year. The Raiders last year generated $78 million in gross ticket revenue, which was tops in the NFL.

Allegiant Stadium hosting nearly 1.3 million fans in the first nine months that fans were allowed inside was also a factor, Ozanian said.

“They’re also doing a really good job of bringing non-NFL events into the stadium,” he said.

The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable franchise at $8 billion, followed by the New England Patriots ($6.4 billion), the Los Angeles Rams ($6.2 billion), the New York Giants ($6 billion) and the Chicago Bears ($5.8 billion) rounding out the top five. The average NFL team is worth $4.47 billion and jumped 28 percent from last year.

Overall, all teams’ values were impacted by the sale of the Denver Broncos this year for $4.65 billion.

“The Broncos sale went for eight times revenue,” Ozanian said. The two teams that sold most recently before that, the Carolina Panthers and the Buffalo Bills, “went for less than six times revenue,” he said.

“When you look at the revenue growth in the NFL and although it’s not as international as the NBA, the revenue growth and the immense profitability is there,” Ozanian added. “If you’ve got a decent stadium situation, you’re going to make $100 million or more in operating income.”

On average NFL teams get 61.3 percent of their revenue from media deals, 10.2 percent from general seating, 10.1 percent from sponsorships and advertising, 9.4 percent from premium seating and 9 percent from other means, Forbes reported.

For the Raiders to continue to see their team value rise, they must continue to put a quality product on the field, Ozanian said.

“It’s really important because what determines the revenue difference within the NFL with over 70 percent of football revenue shared equally, is what can you charge for tickets, what can you charge for premium seating and what is the demand for that,” Ozanian said. “In a market like Las Vegas, having a good team is something that is going to help that. I think that’s definitely a factor for the Raiders.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.