Despite an unrelenting rise in NFL team valuations, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan told CNBC in an exclusive interview that the price of NFL teams is still undervalued compared with the price of teams in other professional sports leagues.
“I think the run-up for NFL is almost endless,” said Khan.
Khan told CNBC that the combination of private equity, expanding media deals and community building will continue to drive league valuations higher. Khan paid $770 million for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011, and CNBC now pegs the team at $9.35 billion. That works out to an 18% annualized return. If the value of the Jaguars continues to appreciate at that rate, the team would be worth $112 billion by 2041.
Khan’s comments come as team valuations continue to soar. According to CNBC’s Official NFL Team Valuations for 2026, the average NFL team is now worth $10.36 billion, a 35% year-over-year increase. That number underscores the dramatic increase in sale prices recently. For instance, the Washington Commanders sold for $6.05 billion in 2023, 30% more than the Denver Broncos did in 2022, and earlier this month, the Seattle Seahawks sold for an NFL record $9.61 billion, 59% more than the Commanders fetched just three years earlier.
One big reason valuations keep rising is that NFL teams’ sale price-to-revenue multiples have been increasing, a measure of just how eager investors are to own a piece of a team. The Broncos went for about nine times revenue. The Commanders’ comparable multiple was around 11, and the Seahawks’ sale-price-to-revenue multiple was over 14.
Multiples have likely not topped out. Mark Walter wants to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, which is about 20 times revenue. The NFL is more profitable than the NBA, and it dominates television ratings. Also, about a third of the league’s teams are adding new stadiums or undertaking massive renovations to existing stadiums, driving revenue growth. And the league continues to build its brand outside the U.S. with more international games — a record nine this season and 10 in 2027.
“The big story is that the NFL is still greatly undervalued,” Khan said.
When asked directly if a team could pass a $100 billion valuation, Khan did not flinch.
“It’s going to be a big number.”
