The Dallas Cowboys might not have had much success recently on the field, but their valuation off it is sky-rocketing. According to a recent list released by Forbes, the NFL team became the first franchise to have an estimated worth of over $8 billion.
This makes the franchise not only the most valuable franchise in the NFL, but the most successful sports team on the entire planet. This should make team owner Jerry Jones a very happy man.
Jones, who bought the franchise for just $150 million back in 1989 has seen the team's valuation grow by the year thanks to their marketing and branding campaign. Things could have been very different though had former US President Donald Trump bought the franchise.
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Back in the 80s, the former president nearly bought the franchise but backed out of the deal. Right before Jones secured the deal, this is what Trump had to say:
"I feel sorry for the poor guy who is going to buy the Cowboys. He'll be known to the world as a loser."
Trump later ended up purchasing a USFL team, the New Jersey Generals. Unfortunately for Trump, his dreams of owning a professional football team didn't last very long and his side shut up shop after two years.
Dallas Cowboys weren't the only NFL team on Donald Trump's radar
NFL teams aren't cheap to come by these days. While the Dallas-based franchise was listed as the most valuable, the New England Patriots followed up in second place with a valuation of $6.4 billion, while the LA Rams finished in third place with $6.3 billion.
But according to an interview published by the New York Times, Donald Trump claimed that apart from the Cowboys, he had a couple of NFL teams he could've purchased for around $50 million:
“I could have bought an NFL team. There were three or four available—that still are available, including, of course, the Dallas Cowboys. I could have bought an NFL club for $40 million or $50 million, but it’s established and you would just see it move laterally. Not enough to create there."
As per Forbes, Donald Trump's net worth as of 2022 is reported to be $3 billion. In hindsight, we feel the former president might not have made the best of decisions by not investing in an NFL team when he had the chance.
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