How 'bout them Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys break record as world’s most valuable sports team

The Cowboys are on top again.

It appears America’s Team also is the world’s team, at least from a monetary standpoint.

A new ranking from Forbes magazine, released July 22, places the Dallas Cowboys at No. 1 among the most valuable sports teams on the planet.

The NFL team that Jerry Jones bought 30 years ago for a paltry $140 million holds the title, for the fourth consecutive year, of the world’s most valuable sports franchise. The current estimated value of the ’Boys: $5 billion. No other sports team has ever reached that milestone. The No. 2-ranked New York Yankees are worth a mere $4.6 billion.

“Jones has capitalized on the insatiable appetite for all things Cowboys,” Forbes declares.

While on-the-field success has fallen short of the team’s goals, its financial success has scored more than a few touchdowns.

Forbes notes that Jones & Co. has generated an estimated $340 million in sponsorship and premium-seat revenue at AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009. That’s twice as much as any other team, the magazine says.

On top of that, nine of the 50 most-watched sports TV broadcasts in 2018 were regular-season games involving the Cowboys, according to Forbes.

Forbes reports the team’s value rose 4 percent from $4.8 billion in 2018. The franchise’s operating income totaled $365 million in 2017, or $1 million a day. The magazine says that’s a record amount of income for any professional sports team.

Back when Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989, the team was worth a measly $60 million.

Donald Trump — now U.S. President, but then a New York real estate developer — once boasted that he could have bought the Cowboys for $50 million. But he passed on the deal.

“I feel sorry for the poor guy who is going to buy the Dallas Cowboys,” Trump told The New York Times in 1984. “It’s a no-win situation for him, because if he wins, well, so what, they’ve won through the years, and if he loses, which seems likely because they’re having troubles, he’ll be known to the world as a loser.”

The cash-cow Cowboys aren’t the only Dallas team on this year’s Forbes list.

The NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, owned by Mark Cuban, appear at No. 43 in the global ranking. Forbes pegs the team’s value at $2.25 billion, up 18 percent from 2018. Cuban’s team slam-dunked an operating income of $99 million in 2017.

Five places ahead of the Mavericks are the NBA’s Houston Rockets, tied at No. 38. Forbes estimates the value of the franchise at $2.3 billion, up 5 percent from 2018. Tilman Fertitta’s team netted an operating income of $103 million in 2017.

The NFL’s Houston Texans, meanwhile, are locked in a tie at No. 22. For 2019, the estimated value of the Texans is $2.8 billion — unchanged from 2018. The team, owned by Janice McNair, notched an operating income of $161 million in 2017, Forbes says.

No other Texas sports teams made this year’s Forbes list.

Rounding out the top five behind the Cowboys and Yankees are the Real Madrid soccer team (No. 3, $4.24 billion), Barcelona soccer team (No. 4, $4.02 billion), and NBA's New York Knicks (No. 5, $4 billion).

Forbes bases its valuations on each team's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, known in business circles as EBITDA. This is a key measurement of a team’s financial performance.

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Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

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This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

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