NFL Countdown: Before the Cowboys, there was once the Dallas Texans

The Dallas Cowboys are one of the biggest sporting brands on the planet, not just in the NFL. Everywhere you go, Cowboys merchandise can be found. Such is the popularity of "America's Team." They are a true global phenomenon.

Before the Dallas Cowboys came to be, there was a team called the Dallas Texans, and they were not very good at all. In fact, they were horrible.

The team only lasted one season before folding. They went 1-11 under head coach Jim Phelan. Every game was a blowout loss, aside from their 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears.

The Texans folded after the 1952 season and, along with a Baltimore-based group, were granted a new franchise in the league. That franchise was the Baltimore Colts. They acquired assets from the Texans, which included its players.

Back then, the AFL (headed by Lamar Hunt) and the NFL were in direct competition with each other.

When the NFL recognized this competition, a decision was made to try and expand its own league in Dallas. Thus, the Cowboys were born in 1960. As the team's popularity grew by the week, Hunt realized that the Texans (one of the founding teams of his new AFL league to compete with the NFL) could no longer compete with the Cowboys in the state.

Hunt then decided to move the Texans franchise to Kansas City after the 1962 season. He rebranded them as the Chiefs. The Texans' name was lost to football until the NFL expanded again in 2002 with the birth of the Houston Texans.

Cowboys always number one in Texas

NFC Wild Card Playoffs - San Francisco v Dallas

Since their inception, Dallas has been a juggernaut. The team brought football back to the state of Texas. With Jerry Jones transforming the franchise to the global powerhouse that it is, millions upon millions of fans flock to see the team play week in and week out.

Most of the highest-rated television games during an NFL season have, at least, one or two Dallas games mentioned as fans either love the team or hate them. There is no in-between.

AT&T Stadium is often sold out for home games, and Dallas fans travel as well. The Texans could never compete with Dallas once they were established and were sent with their tail between their legs to Kansas City.

To this day, the Dallas Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones, are one of the most expensive franchises on the planet. Jones said months ago that he could sell his team for $10 billion.

Despite not having a Super Bowl appearance in decades, the team still racks up absurd amounts of money. That is how big the franchise is, and it only keeps getting bigger.