NEW YORK, 13 October 2025 – The Dallas Cowboys are once again the most valuable and strongest NFL brand, according to a new report from Brand Finance, the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy.
The Cowboys’ brand value increased 3% to USD3.0 billion, more than double the second-ranked Philadelphia Eagles. Dubbed “America’s Team,” the Cowboys are also the strongest brand in the NFL with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 92.5 out of 100, earning a top-tier AAA+ rating. On par with leading global consumer brands such as Nike, Google, and Coca-Cola, the Cowboys’ brand strength underlines their unique position at the intersection of sport, entertainment, and commerce. Brand Finance’s enterprise value analysis places the franchise’s value at USD17.5 billion – the highest of any sports team globally and well above external estimates – reflecting both their scale of revenues and the profitability advantage conferred by the NFL’s salary cap.
Hugo Hensley, Head of Sports Services, Brand Finance, commented:
“Although the combined brand value of all 32 NFL teams declined 10% this year to USD26.5 billion, the league remains a commercial behemoth. Attendance is at a 20-year high, sponsorship revenues are growing, and the NFL stands apart on the global stage. In brand value terms, its franchises are worth more than the Premier League and the NBA combined, and several times more than Europe’s leading football leagues. The structural advantages of US leagues – centralized media rights, revenue sharing, and marketing franchises as global entertainment properties – continue to set the NFL apart.”
Behind the Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles rose from fifth to second, with brand value up 10% to USD1.3 billion following their Super Bowl victory. The Las Vegas Raiders hold third place at USD1.2 billion, demonstrating the resilience of their heritage and fan base despite weaker on-field performance. The New England Patriots rank fourth with brand value up 2% to USD1.1 billion, while the Green Bay Packers round out the top five at USD1.1 billion, down 4% year on year.
Behind the Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles are the second-strongest NFL brand with a BSI score of 91.4 out of 100. According to Brand Finance research, their strength is driven by standout perceptions of being “exciting to watch” and “having a lot of star players.” The Kansas City Chiefs rank third with a BSI of 89.0, supported by a strong reputation for success, the star power of Patrick Mahomes, and global media attention around Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, which has broadened the team’s cultural relevance beyond traditional football audiences.
Laurence Newell, Managing Director, Americas, Brand Finance, commented:
“The results highlight the importance of brand as a driver of franchise value in the NFL. A strong brand not only fuels revenues from sponsorships, merchandise, and media rights, but it also attracts new fans, builds resilience during downturns, and sustains engagement beyond immediate on-field performance. For the NFL’s leading teams, brand has become one of their most valuable assets – and one of their biggest sources of competitive advantage.”
Beyond the franchises themselves, the NFL’s commercial scale makes it a powerful platform for corporate partners to build their own brands. To mark the launch of this year’s report, Brand Finance has published a new case study quantifying the brand impact of leading global technology company HCLTech’s sponsorship of MetLife Stadium. According to Brand Finance analysis, as the Official Digital Transformation Partner and Cornerstone Partner of MetLife Stadium, the partnership has already contributed USD247 million to HCLTech’s brand value over three years by boosting familiarity, preference, and trust among NFL audiences. This highlights how associations with the league can deliver measurable returns, underlining the NFL’s wider role as a driver of brand and business growth.
Brand Finance launched its NFL 2025 report, in partnership with HCLTech, at the MetLife Stadium on October 9th, 2025.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organisations make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance operates in over 25 countries. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 6,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on 6,000 brands, surveying more than 175,000 respondents across 41 countries and 31 industry sectors. By combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database — the largest brand value database in the world — Brand Finance equips ambitious brand leaders with the data, analytics, and the strategic guidance they need to enhance brand and business value.
In addition to calculating brand value, Brand Finance also determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, compliant with ISO 20671.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm and a committed leader in the standardisation of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
