In 1989, a little-known Insurance salesman who had sold the family business and ventured into oil and gas exploration bought an American Football team for $150 million. This vanity purchase was the Dallas Cowboys, and propelled Jerry Jones into public consciousness and made him one of the most powerful owners in the NFL.
With the Cowboys now valued at over $10 billion, Jones’ personal wealth has grown exponentially, and the Cowboys are one of the best-known franchises in the world. Since Jones bought the team, the value of US sports franchises has exploded.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The NFL and NBA have seen several teams change hands over the past few years, but while the ownership of a sports franchise was once the must-have accessory for the wealthy who had everything, as sports leagues strive to become more professional, there is conflict between owners and leagues.
While Jones paid a relatively small fee for his franchise back in 1989 when compared to today’s prices, now franchises are being traded for significant sums. The Phoenix Suns were bought my Matt Ishbia, another insurance salesman, for around $4 billion while the Boston Celtics were recently sold for just over $6 billion, a price some have suggested was the desired outcome for the NBA given their potential expansion plans – now anyone hoping to buy into the league with rumoured franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle – knows the price.
In the NFL, the Washington Commanders were sold in 2023 for $6.05 billion, topping the previous record sale of the Denver Broncos, who were sold to the Walton family for $4.65 billion. Hedge fund manager David Tepper bought the Carolina Panthers, while former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers.
While some franchises are sold voluntarily, some, like the Clippers, are forced sales when owners become embroiled in scandal – former Clippers owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team after racist comments became public, while former Panthers owner Jerry Richardson was forced to sell his team after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him, while the likes of former Suns owner Robert Sarver and Commanders owner Dan Snyder were pushed into selling their teams following allegations of misconduct.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataAs the leagues become more professional and commercialized, the idea of owners being allowed to run teams as their own personal fiefdoms without any accountability has worn away. Media rights sales are reaching record highs, and sponsorship revenue is constantly increasing as teams can diversify their portfolios.
Leagues such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL are more wary than ever of scandals and poor behaviour killing their golden goose. This naturally leads to conflict with some of the more established owners, who tend to be more on the eccentric side and have either inherited their franchises or been in place for a long time, and therefore likely bought in at a lower price point than the newer owners who project the image of competent businessmen.
One of those owners who seems to be spoiling for a fight is the owner of the New York Knicks, James Dolan. As owner of one of the marquee franchises in one of the largest markets in the US, Dolan is no stranger to conflict, even taking on his own father.
However, as the landscape of the sports industry shifts with media rights now targeted by streaming companies, this has led to MSG Networks, another Dolan company, coming under pressure. Dolan has long had issues with the revenue-sharing system in the NBA and has chosen the new media rights landscape as a battleground.
The new NBA media rights deal, which is worth $75 billion and starts next season, directly challenges regional sports networks like MSG Networks. Under the new deal, the number of nationally televised games increases from 12 to 15.
While this is good for a league looking to centralize power, much like the NFL has done, Dolan argues that this reduces the ability of the Knicks to generate revenue – games are no longer exclusively available in the local market, which reduces the value of arena specific deals which are focused on the local market, as any national deals are the purview of the league, not the individual teams.
MSG Networks has also seen an 11.5% drop in the number of subscribers year on year, while its debts have increased.
MSG Networks is currently to trying to restructure these debts to avoid filing for bankruptcy, which in turn would have a severe financial impact on the revenue the Knicks and New York Rangers receive, with the Knicks rights fees cut by 28% and the Rangers fees cut by 18% as part of a new agreement made in April 2025, backdated to January 1st 2025.
Dolan, in a letter to the other NBA owners, has suggested that the entire RSN model could become unviable because of the new media rights deal, and has suggested that the NBA has done nothing to protect those RSNs. The last few years have seen the RSN model struggle, with the likes of Diamond Sports Group filing for bankruptcy, and Apple taking on the RSN model for MLB.
It is not only the NBA whom Dolan conflicts with – he tried to sue the NHL in 2007 when the NHL took ownership of all team websites, only backing down when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman threatened to take away the New York Rangers from Dolan.
Team ownership was, and maybe still is, a badge of honour. There are a limited number of franchises in US sports, and owning one puts you into a rarified group – all billionaires can own a yacht; how many can own a sports franchise? But as the leagues become more commercial and business-minded, there is no doubt that self-interest will not be tolerated.
The likes of the Kroenke’s who own the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, may be seen as poor owners – the Nuggets famously do not have a proper practice facility – but they do not actively harm the league. Any perceived threat to the ‘greater good’ of the league will not be tolerated, as the likes of Sterling, Sarver, and Richardson found out.
Dolan will argue he is acting in the best interests of his franchise, as will Tampa Bay Rays owner Stuart Sternberg, who has come into conflict with MLB regarding the Rays’ new stadium. However, the likes of NBA commissioner Adam Silver and MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will not tolerate rogue elements trying to benefit themselves at the expense of the leagues they represent.
Anyone trying to rock the boat will not be tolerated for long, and while Dolan is powerful and his market a big one, no one can be seen to be bigger than the leagues. The likes of Jerry Jones have survived and thrived with this in mind, something Dolan and anyone else wanting to challenge the leagues would do well to remember.
