Cowboys, Patriots, Rams Top Sportico's 2021 Most Valuable NFL Teams List

Sportico released its list of the most valuable NFL franchises Wednesday, and the Dallas Cowboys led the way as expected.

At $6.92 billion, the Cowboys are worth over $1.5 billion more than the New England Patriots, who are No. 2 on the list. Here is a full rundown of the top 10:

In May, Forbes named the Cowboys the most valuable professional sports franchise in the world with a value of $5.7 billion at the time.

When the Forbes list was released earlier this year, the top-five most valuable NFL franchises were the same organizations that made the top five on Sportico's list.

There was one slight change, though, as the Los Angeles Rams leapfrogged the New York Giants for the No. 3 spot, while the San Francisco 49ers remain in fifth.

Sportico reported the average NFL team is worth $3.5 billion, meaning the Cowboys are worth nearly twice as much as the average team. 

Last year, Sportico's Peter J. Schwartz reported that the average NFL team was worth about $3 billion. The Cowboys were the most valuable team at $6.43 billion last year, meaning their value has increased by nearly a half-billion dollars since then.

As is often the case, the top 10 is made up entirely of large-market teams. Joining the top five are the Washington Football Team, New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans.

On-field success doesn't necessarily have a direct correlation to value, as seven of the 10 teams on the list failed to reach the playoffs last season.

That includes the Cowboys, who have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons and haven't reached the Super Bowl or even the NFC Championship Game since the 1995 season.

With quarterback Dak Prescott back after missing all but five games last season due to an ankle injury, there is hope in Dallas that the Cowboys will be able to prevail in a weak NFC East this season.

Regardless of how the Cowboys fare on the field, however, there is no end in sight to their reign as the most valuable franchise in the NFL, especially with owner Jerry Jones at the helm.