Cowboys top list of NFL's most valuable franchises at record $15.5 billion... as midwest AFC team finishes dead last for seventh straight year

The Dallas Cowboys are again top of the list of the NFL's most valuable franchises, while the Cincinnati Bengals remain rooted to the bottom.

Business is booming in the NFL, with the league's value skyrocketing as the most lucrative in world sports. The Seattle Seahawks was just sold for a record-breaking $9.6billion

And the latest annual Sportico NFL team valuations place all 32 franchises among the 40 most valuable sports team in the world.

Collectively, the NFL's teams are said to be worth nearly $300billion with the average team value rising to $9.34B, a 31-percent increase year-on-year and a 141-percent rise over a five-year span.

While valuations are rising across the board, nobody can keep pace with the financial might of the Cowboys, transformed into a $15.5B giant by owner Jerry Jones and top of the list for the seventh year in a row.

Beneath them, things are more surprising. The Los Angeles Rams, considered by many as this year's Super Bowl favorites with a star-studded roster, come in second at $12.7B, continuing to benefit from moving back the California from St. Louis in 2016. 

The Northeast dominates the rest of the top five, with the New York Giants ($12B) and New York Jets ($10.35B) sandwiching the $10.4B New England Patriots. 

The top-10 is rounded out by the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have moved up three spots in the rankings, like the Jets, to climb into the top-10.

The Cincinnati Bengals, a small market team, remain rooted to the bottom with a $7.4B valuation, still up 35% from last year, with the New Orleans Saints ($7.59billion), Indianapolis Colts ($7.77B), Jacksonville Jaguars ($7.91B) and Arizona Cardinals ($8B) the bottom five.

The Kansas City Chiefs, despite enormous recent success and the star power of Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, sit right in the middle in 16th at $8.44B while the Green Bay Packers are the biggest fallers, down four spots to 22nd.  

The Cowboys are on a different level to other franchises in terms of driving revenue, generating $1.3B last year out of an estimated $23.5B across the league. Their enormous $510million operating profits dwarf the nearest franchise, the Los Angeles Rams, who made an estimated $255M.

Dallas benefits enormously from its ownership of The Star in Frisco as well as AT&T Stadium, plus is the only team operating outside the league's shared merchandise system.

Jones famously purchased the hapless Cowboys in 1989 for a mere $140 million dollars and immediately began the process of returning the franchise to its glory years of the 1970s. The team won three Super Bowls in the 1990s, but hasn't reached an NFC title game since 1995. 

The Rams, Dolphins, Raiders and Falcons also generated huge revenue from events outside the NFL, such as concerts or, in Miami's case, the Formula 1 Grand Prix held around Hard Rock Stadium, which also hosted the College Football National Championship Game and University of Miami home games.

There are likely to be further changes to the rankings in the coming years, with a number of franchises either completing or beginning new stadium projects.

The Buffalo Bills, currently ranked 25th on the list, have just moved into the new $2.2B Highmark Stadium, while the Tennessee Titans have broken ground on a new Nashville stadium due to open next season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are also undergoing a stadium revamp with the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears also working on new stadium plans and proposals.