The power of Las Vegas has taken the Raiders to the NFL’s penthouse.
The franchise is now the third most valuable team in the NFL, with an estimated $13 billion valuation, according to CNBC.
The team’s latest estimated value on the cable network’s team valuation list, released this week, is a large increase from the $9.3 billion the news outlet rated the team last year. The Raiders’ value has grown astronomically since 2015, the year before their Las Vegas relocation talks began, when the team’s estimated value was at $1.43 billion.
The Raiders are among three teams whose value is at least $13 billion, with the Dallas Cowboys ranked as the most valuable NFL franchise at $16 billion and the Los Angeles Rams at $14.5 billion. The New York Giants ($12.5 billion) and the New England Patriots ($12.25 billion) round out the top five.
The Raiders generated $887 million in total revenue last season, with an operating income of $191 million, according to Forbes.
Seahawks sale
The large year-over-year increase was largely tied to the sale of the Seattle Seahawks, who changed hands for $9.6 billion, or more than 14 times their annual revenue, according to Michael Ozanian, the CNBC reporter who compiles the valuation list.
“Then you’ve got to look at these other teams and think where they would be on multiples of revenue,” Ozanian said.
It doesn’t mean that every team is 14 times revenue, because the larger a team’s value grows, the harder it is to scale and grow revenue, Ozanian, who began making valuation lists in 1991, said. The Raiders are valued at 14.7 times their annual revenue of $887 million based on the $13 billion valuation.
Allegiant Stadium
The Raiders’ success in the Las Vegas market with Allegiant Stadium is also a contributing factor to the team’s continued rise in value. Las year, Allegiant was named the No. 2 grossing stadium in the world by Billboard magazine, bringing in $281 million in gross revenue between October 2024 and September 2025.
“I think the job that they’ve done, not just with football games, but with non-football events there, which they draw a lot of revenue from, I think that’s positive,” Ozanian said. “In particular with the NFL, with such a high percentage, like 65 percent or something of revenue being shared equally; your market size per se doesn’t matter that much. It’s really more of a focus on stadium economics, where you are located. Is it a destination place, do people want to come? And I think that Vegas has extremely high appeal for prospective owners.”
The Raiders have also consistently added improvements to Allegiant Stadium, despite the facility being six years old. The team has added new suites, concessions, security measures and are set to build a new $158 million north entry plaza that will elevate the fan experience. Keeping the facility as one of the best in the world will continue to pay dividends, Ozanian said.
“When talking with some owners … what they say is it’s important that when you renovate, do a massive renovation, or do a new stadium now, you need some flexibility going forward to be able to do improvements or to modify it for various things to make it easy. But you want to be able to have fans be able to connect with other fans because ultimately, the brand comes down to how many fans do you have, how positive is the experience, how often do they want to connect with something to do with the Raiders.
“You can’t do like you used to do in the past where, OK, I’m building this stadium, it’s up and running, I spent X amount, I’m done.”
Minority stake sales
In the past few years, the Raiders have brought in multiple minority owners, including Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban (22 percent stake), Discovery Land founder Michael Meldman (12.9 percent), Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell (5.3 percent) and Tom Brady (5 percent) among others.
Bringing in those limited partners, who are all already successful businessmen in their own rights, is considered a smart move by majority owner Mark Davis, who still owns 36 percent of the NFL club.
“He’s brought in some really smart LP (limited partners), people that have a lot of business savvy,” Ozanian said. “I think that’s a real brilliant move on his part. I think that’s going to continue to help him to grow the brand and the business of the Raiders.”
Winning could equal more dollar signs
The Raiders’ value has grown annually despite the lack of success by the team on the field. The Raiders have only made the playoffs once since they moved to Las Vegas and had the worst record in the league last season, leading to the drafting of Heisman-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft.
If the Raiders can find a way to win, their value is set to rise even more, especially if fan-favorite Mendoza can duplicate his championship level of performance in the pro ranks.
“It could potentially do a lot,” Ozanian said. “I think it’s hard to put a precise number on it, but I think if Mendoza is a success there, I think he’s got the personality and if they’re winning on top of that, it’s definitely positive. So it could be, you get more games on national TV, because you’re winning, that’s a positive.
“If you get more fans and maybe you sold out before, but maybe you can either raise ticket prices or you can do more things with merch or you could do more things with sponsors, it’s only a positive.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
