Forbes: Rams' value doubled with move to Los AngelesBy Darren Rovell
ESPN.com
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Moving to Los Angeles didn't seem to do much for the Rams' on-the-field fortunes, but leaving St. Louis for Hollywood seemed to be a savvy business move for owner Stan Kroenke.
Forbes, in its annual NFL franchise values list published Wednesday, estimates the Rams are now the sixth-most valuable team in the league at $2.9 billion. That's up from $1.45 billion last year, which made the Rams the 28th-most valuable franchise in the league.
It's not a complete net gain for Kroenke, however, as the publication notes his relocation fee will come out to $65 million a year to be paid from 2020 to 2029. That would mean nothing is owed until after the Rams first season in their new stadium in Inglewood.
Although they didn't move to Los Angeles, potential city free agency has made the Oakland Raiders and the San Diego Chargers more valuable.
The value of those franchises rose 47 and 36 percent, respectively, as noise gets louder for the Raiders to potentially move to Las Vegas. The Chargers could either get a new stadium in San Diego or become a co-tenant with Kroenke in the Rams' new stadium that is scheduled to open for the 2019 season.
Forbes says NFL franchise values are up 19 percent compared to last season by an average of $2.34 billion.
Boosted by an estimated $700 million in revenue last year, the Dallas Cowboys are said to be worth $4.2 billion, $800 million more than the next team, the New England Patriots, at $3.4 billion. Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys for only $140 million in 1989.
The New York Giants ($3.1 billion), San Francisco 49ers ($3 billion) and the Washington Redskins ($2.9 billion) round out the top five. Forbes says the league's least valuable team is the Buffalo Bills at $1.5 billion.
