Raiders make huge leap in franchise valuation rankings

The valuation of the Raiders continues to rise in Las Vegas, with the Silver and Black now worth $6.2 billion, making them the sixth-most valuable team in the NFL.

The team’s value increased 22 percent over last year, when they were ninth, jumping $1.1 billion since 2022, according to Forbes annual ranking of NFL team values.

The Raiders have come a long way from 2015, when they were 31st in the 32-team NFL in these rankings.

Since relocation talk began, the Raiders value has steadily increased, going from $2.1 billion in 2019, to $3.1 billion in 2020 when the team began playing at Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders’ current value has doubled since their Southern Nevada tenure began.

The Raiders generated $729 million in revenue, which is the second most in the league behind the Dallas Cowboys, who pulled in $1.1 billion last year.

With the massive surge in valuation it should be no surprise that the Raiders were No. 1 in the NFL in ticket revenue, with the team generating more than $90 million off home games last year.

Since fans began to be allowed in the stadium in the summer of 2021 following a COVID-induced fanless 2020, 1.1 million people have attended NFL games at Allegiant Stadium, according to Las Vegas Stadium Authority data.

Outside of their own games, the Raiders also pulled in $70 million off non-NFL events at Allegiant Stadium last year.

More than 1.7 million fans have attended concerts and other one-off sporting events at the stadium since 2021.

“It shows what a good job they have done to maximize the situation,” said Michael Ozanian, managing editor of Forbes Sports Money, who creates the annual team valuation lists.

The Cowboys again topped Forbes’ list as the most valuable franchise in the NFL, with America’s Team worth $9 billion. They were followed by the New England Patriots ($7 billion), Los Angeles Rams ($6.9 billion), New York Giants ($6.8 billion) and the Chicago Bears ($6.3 billion).

The Tennessee Titans saw a 26 percent jump in their value, coming in at $4.4 billion, following the team securing $1.26 billion in public financing for the building of a $2.1 billion stadium in Nashville.

The average NFL team value sits at $5.1 billion, up 14 percent over last year, the report noted.

The Raiders received $750 million from the state during a 2016 special session of the Legislature to go toward the building of the $2 billion Allegiant Stadium. That contribution is being repaid via a 0.88 percent room tax on hotel rooms in Clark County.

Between March 2017 when the tax was instituted and June 2023, the room tax has generated $285 million in revenue.

With Las Vegas being a smaller market, support from visitors was going to be needed to fill the stadium for all the events that occur. The plan was hashed out among various groups in meetings that led to Allegiant Stadium becoming a reality, a collaboration that Ozanian believes played a big role in the team’s business success in Las Vegas.

“You really have to have a game plan of who your sponsors and high-end clientele will be,” Ozanian said.

The Raiders made the playoffs in 2021 but missed the postseason last year, so the on-the-field performance has been up-and-down.

If the Raiders can put together a team that can contend for championships, there is even more room for growth in the team’s valuation, Ozanian said.

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