$$ Value of the franchise?

The Wilson's next contract thread got me wondering what fair market value for the Seahawks would really be (?). I know there's estimations out there, but with the Bills just selling @ an incredible 1.5 bil, I think estimations can be thrown out the window.

If Buffalo was worth that much, I have to think our Hawks have to be worth a considerable amount more (for a plethora of reasons). Maybe 2 bil?

This franchise, once on the verge of being carted away in Mayflowers, has proven to be a very nice investment for Mr. Allen. We should all feel good about that. Our little Russ has expressed desire in ultimately owning a franchise, himself.

I have no reason to doubt anything Wilson says and he seems to get what he desires. Even with a savvy portfolio and a butt-load of endorsement money coming in, it's going to take a ton of money to pull off such a deal (unless his actual wish is to be a minority shareholder in a team). With this in mind, I'm not counting on any home town discounts from Russ this off-season.

"Costco"? No. Nordstroms? Maybe.

Following XLVIII, Forbes ranked the Seahawks as worth 1.33 Billion. 15th among all NFL valuations. Paul Allen paid 194 Million in 1997. Cowboys are #1 at 3.2 Billion.

http://www.forbes.com/nfl-valuations/list/

lsheldon":an1b6zxa said:

Following XLVIII, Forbes ranked the Seahawks as worth 1.33 Billion. 15th among all NFL valuations. Paul Allen paid 194 Million in 1997. Cowboys are #1 at 3.2 Billion.

http://www.forbes.com/nfl-valuations/list/

Click to expand...

Remember that this was pre ridiculous Steve Balmer offer for the so so Clippers. A Super Bowl NFL franchise with growing fan base is now worth much more than $1.33 bil.

Even today, we're probably not worth as much as the Cowboys (why, I don't know) but if they're worth 3.3, we must be worth 2.5. Just guessing, but still a whopping return (in theory) for our owner. Nice.

RW better be saving every dime between now and his projected 2032 retirement.

I think stadiums are factored into those numbers. Jerryworld is worth about $1.5b. Not sure how much C-link cost, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was half that. So the numbers of the actual franchises are much closer.

Excellent point. Though I wonder if the difference in land value would edge the Clink up closer to Jonestown? That's one hell of a property we sit on. Jonestown sits on...well, dirt.

Both Dallas and Denver have huge followings south of the border. Many immigrants wear the star and they bring the fandom with them. With expected demographic changes, I expect Dallas will retain a large following well into the future. In my lifetime, they will probably always be the most valuable franchise.

Very true, but wouldn't the same then also pertain to SD? The Raiders also have a huge Hispanic following.

The Seahawks are worth whatever someone else would be willing to pay for them and Paul Allen would be willing to accept.

As is the case with anything / everything.

I wasn't necessarily trying to determine the definitive amount the team would be worth as much as I was using it as a gauge. The Bills would have to be near the bottom in value and just sold for 1.5. The Cowboys at the top with an approximate value of 3.3. So the avg price for an NFL team is clearly somewhere in between and that's a lot of money our star QB will be needing if ownership is something he really has designs on.

If nothing else, the topic itself assists him in refusing to offer discounted services.

seabowl":2jpc4rqr said:

lsheldon":2jpc4rqr said:

Following XLVIII, Forbes ranked the Seahawks as worth 1.33 Billion. 15th among all NFL valuations. Paul Allen paid 194 Million in 1997. Cowboys are #1 at 3.2 Billion.

http://www.forbes.com/nfl-valuations/list/

Click to expand...

Remember that this was pre ridiculous Steve Balmer offer for the so so Clippers. A Super Bowl NFL franchise with growing fan base is now worth much more than $1.33 bil.

Click to expand...

Ballmer paid $2B for the Clippers, and they share their market and venue with both the Lakers and the NHL Kings. Even though they're in a different league and in the 2nd largest market in the country, that transaction will raise the bar for all major league professional sporting franchises.

Plus you have to toss in the cost of new stadiums. Ours cost $400M to build in 2002, and Paul Allen only paid about $50M out of his own pocket plus another $50M from expected revenues. Now new stadiums cost well over $1B.

I could easily see a prospective buyer of a team, say for example, the Raiders, and was going to move them to LA paying $4-5B.

It's insane. These numbers are mind boggling.

Well, Jon Bon Jovi is worth an estimated $300 million and was dumped from the group trying to buy the Bills because as principal owner he would have been required to put up 30% of the investment and he wasn't worth enough. That should give you some idea of what it takes these days to buy an NFL franchise and its only going to go up. There's no way Russell Wilson could ever make enough during his career to do it. To become a principal owner would take years and a lot of savvy business investments. The wealthiest ex-player is Roger Staubach with an estimated worth of $600 million and he earned almost all of that in business after his career was over. Even that might not be enough to become a principal owner these days.

The money Wilson earns during his career will help him get a start on building enough wealth to buy a team but that's about it. I wouldn't doubt anything he says he wants do do but he's got a difficult road ahead unless he invests early on in the next Google or Facebook.

It is my understanding that many teams are owned by a cooperative of co-owners with one of them assuming a dominate role. For example, Al Davis had the title of "Managing Partner". With the high purchase tag, it is probably the only way it can be done unless the primary owner is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

Paul Allen is estimated to have the NFL's highest net worth at roughly 80 billion while the owner of the Panthers, Jerry Richardson, is estimated to have the NFL's least net worth at roughly 200 million. Certainly Richardson must have a cooperative of wealth behind the scenes.

It would be interesting to see the list of sole proprietor owners if there is one. I believe Allen is one of them although one could argue that the general public has a large stake in the Clink. Of course it is well known that the Packers are an extreme version of collective ownership.

Politics influence franchise value. The NFL is heavily subsidized in two ways. They are exempt from anti-trust laws and their stadium venues are largely paid for through public money. These two issues have influence with respect to future international expansion. They also lend political leverage over the league owners if they become negligent with their collective power. There are political forces in play that want to leverage that power because of recent incidents of how the league is policing player misconduct.

The size of the network contracts have direct influence on franchise value. The final piece of the power structure are the television networks and the largest sponsors that advertise through them. They have a large stake in keeping the public perception of the league at a high standard and would likely be the largest influence on the commissioner's tenure. The networks place their demands directly on the collective ownership in contract negotiations and want their advertised products/services associated with a clean image. When the current player misconduct issue is in play for the next television contract, the commissioner is in jeopardy. Sponsors will certainly use that bargaining chip to bring down advertising costs, indirectly forcing the networks to leverage future contracts at a reduced rate (more money but not as much as what could have been).

The commissioner may have to fall on the sword, as in the end, the bottom line is money. The ownership will need to demonstrate they are taking concrete action, to both the politicians and the networks/sponsors, and the easiest way to do this is to bring in a new guy. In short, the collective value of the franchises are directly impacted when, for example, Adrian Peterson is charged with child abuse and then shortly thereafter, admits to smoking weed when asked to deliver a urine sample.