When it comes to an NFL franchise, the value is the same as it is for anything else.
It’s whatever someone else will pay for it.
As to the Commanders, the Forbes valuation doesn’t mean jack squat. What matters is the final price. And if it’s $6.05 billion, that’s what the team is worth.
That’s a 30-percent bump over the price paid just eight months ago for the Broncos. And it sets the floor for the next sale, whether it’s the Seahawks in May 2024 or some other team that possibly wasn’t for sale until the owner realized that the trajectory is moving toward $10 billion.
It creates another problem for families that hope to keep their teams. As the prices go up and thus the value goes up, the estate tax goes up, too. And without proper planning, some families may have no choice but to sell the team if/when the family patriarch or matriarch goes to that great luxury suite in the sky.
There have been discussions about changing ownership rules to account for these complications, and to make it easier to find people with enough money to buy NFL franchises when they are for sale.
Again, that’s all that matters. Having the most money. It doesn’t matter if the person will be good for the game or for the players on the team or for the fans or for anyone or anything.
For fans, they can only hope that their favorite team is operated by an owner who knows what he or she is doing -- and then hope that this person live as long as he or she possibly can. Without realizing along the way that they would rather take the cash from H.E. Pennypacker. Unless he decides to build a rollercoaster instead.
