SI

NFL Fans React to Cowboys Being Worth Over $10 Billion and Still Not Paying Stars

It's another record-breaking valuation for America's Team.

Liam McKeone

Jul 26, 2024; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during training camp at the River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, Californian. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 26, 2024; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during training camp at the River Ridge Playing Fields in Oxnard, Californian. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports / Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
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The Dallas Cowboys earned the moniker America's Team when they were both very good and very popular in the 1970s and later in the 1990s. They have not been very good in a long time and there's more animosity than ever towards the star, but that apparently hasn't made a difference in the financial world. On Tuesday, Sportico revealed the Cowboys are now the first team to be valued at over $10 billion via their own metrics. In September, Forbes valued the franchise at $9 billion.

The power of the brand is stronger than ever, in other words, and one would assume the wallet of owner Jerry Jones is, too. However, the Cowboys' decision-making in terms of finances this year have suggested otherwise. Star players Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons were all eligible for contract extensions this summer, but the Cowboys have not signed any of them.

Cowboys fans were already frustrated about that. Now this news comes reminding everyone in the sports world that the Cowboys are far and away the most valuable sports franchise in the world. It led to plenty of jokes and criticisms that connected the valuation with Dallas' refusal to pay its top players.

Entering the offseason Dallas had the opportunity to pay its franchise cornerstones in Lamb, Prescott, and Parsons. While Parsons still has two seasons left on his rookie contract both Prescott and Lamb are entering the final years of their deals. Given the importance of quarterbacks and receivers in today's game the assumption was that those two, and maybe Parsons, would be the biggest priorities for the organization this summer.

That assumption proved incorrect. The Cowboys are in the middle of training camp and not a single one of their three stars has signed a long-term deal. Lamb is holding out because of it.

But Jones can show off this valuation as a sign the Cowboys are going in the right direction. So that's something. For him, anyway.

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Liam McKeone
LIAM MCKEONE

Liam McKeone is a senior writer for the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in the industry as a content creator since 2017, and prior to joining SI in May 2024, McKeone worked for NBC Sports Boston and The Big Lead. In addition to his work as a writer, he has hosted the Press Pass Podcast covering sports media and The Big Stream covering pop culture. A graduate of Fordham University, he is always up for a good debate and enjoys loudly arguing about sports, rap music, books and video games. McKeone has been a member of the National Sports Media Association since 2020.

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