by Jon Styf
The estimated value of the Tennessee Titans franchise rose 33% to $4.37 billion in the new Sportico National Football League valuations list.
The increase came despite the Titans missing the playoffs but came in a year when Tennessee and Nashville taxpayers signed up to fund $1.2 billion of a new Titans stadium set to open in 2027. The deal includes an estimated $3.1 billion tax fund to pay off sports authority bonds on the project along with infrastructure around the stadium and future capital expenses at the stadium during the new lease.
The reported increase moved the Titans up to 21st in the team valuation rankings. The only team ahead of the Titans in the rankings that increased more in value was the Las Vegas Raiders (10th) at 41% while the Atlanta Falcons (13th) also rose 33%.
Near the bottom of the rankings, the Buffalo Bills (29th) increased 38% after an announcement of plans for a new $1.4 billion stadium including $850 million of public funding while the Detroit Lions (30th) increased 43%, the Jacksonville Jaguars (31st) increased 37% and the Cincinnati Bengals (32nd) increased an estimated 41% in value.
The average team was valued at $3.09 billion in value in 2020, $4.14 billion in 2021 and now $5.14 billion in 2023.
The Adams family purchased the Titans franchise, then the Houston Oilers, for $25,000 in 1959. The team had an estimated $521 million in revenue in 2022.
Last year, Forbes estimated that a new stadium would increase the franchise’s value by $300 million.
The estimated valuations include each team’s 3.13% stake in league’s properties such as NFL Network, NFL RedZone and digital platforms. It doesn’t include the value of related businesses held by team owners but aims to calculate the franchise’s market value using local and national revenue along with a multiplier.
When asked last year about the team’s estimated valuations from Forbes and Sportico in a Metro Nashville committee meeting, Titans Chief Executive Officer Burke Nihill said that the only time teams find out their real value is when they are sold.
He added the Adams family was doing everything they could to build a new stadium so they didn’t have to sell the team.
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter of The Center Square who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies.
From the taxpayers’ bank account to that of the already wealthy ownership. What a sweetheart deal for the Titans.