All 32 NFL Teams Are Comfortably Profitable

Published on December 4th, 2022 2:08 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Do any NFL teams actually lose money?

There used to be a time when some NFL franchises would struggle. This was before the era of lucrative TV deals, stadium naming rights contracts and more.

In fact, some NFL franchises actually folded as they couldn't make their financials work.

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In this day and age, however, NONE of the NFL's 32 teams lose money.

According to Forbes, the NFL's least valuable franchise is currently the Cincinnati Bengals, who are worth a reported $3 billion.

Even the Bengals, the NFL's least valuable team, reported nearly $114 million in operating income in their last fiscal year (according to Forbes' estimates).

According to Forbes, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the least profitable team last season, and they still made over $62 million in operating income.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Dallas Cowboys reportedly made almost $500 million in operating income in their last fiscal year.

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None of the franchises in the NFL lose money because:

1) The league as a whole prints money

2) The league's 32 teams share a number of different revenue sources

TV money gets divided equally between the league's 32 teams.

The league currently brings in roughly $10 billion per year from its TV rights, and each of the 32 teams gets an equal cut of this money.

During each season, all of the league's 32 teams - from the Dallas Cowboys to the Cincinnati Bengals - get checks for over $300 million.

On top of that, teams will partially share home ticket receipts (40%), as a portion goes into a pool that is divided equally between the league's 32 teams.


Teams get to keep all of their "local revenues", which includes: corporate sponsorships, stadium naming rights, concessions, parking, etc.

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The equal division of the league's TV money makes it practically impossible for any team to lose money.

After all, if the salary cap is a little over $200 million and teams are each raking in over $300 million per year JUST from the league's TV deals, you can see how teams (even in the smallest markets) would be printing money.