Not even a pandemic has slowed the growth of the Steelers’ business in the past year.
Forbes released its 2021 franchise value estimates over the weekend, and the local team’s figure surged 14% to $3.43 billion from $3 billion last September. This despite a near-total lack of revenue at the gate in 2020, as COVID-19 restrictions kept most fans away from Heinz Field.
It appears the NFL’s lucrative media rights deals were the primary salvation, as gains across the league also averaged 14%, with the average franchise value coming in just a few ticks higher than the Steelers’ at $3.48 billion.
The Steelers ranked 14th overall, representing a one-spot gain from a year ago. Dallas topped the list at $6.5 billion and was followed by New England ($5 billion), the New York Giants ($4.85 billion), the Los Angeles Rams ($4.8 billion) and Washington ($4.2 billion.)
Within the AFC North, Baltimore ($3.8 billion) ranked 17th. Cleveland ($2.6 billion) was 29th and Cincinnati ($2.275 billion) was 31st.
It was the revenue department where the pandemic exacted its heaviest toll. Forbes estimates the Steelers’ take plummeted to $364 million from $457 million in 2019. That is the team’s lowest figure since 2015, when it raked in $334 million.
The drop translated to an even steeper hit in operating income, a loose term for profit that represents earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. The Steelers took in just $24 million in that area, down from $86 million in 2020.
Fortunately for owner Art Rooney II, the bulk of his team’s value is tied to the league. Forbes estimated fully 85.9% — or $2.945 billion — is “attributable to revenue shared among all teams,” which just keeps growing. Just 5.5% each was attributable to the market and the brand, while 3.1% was tied to the stadium.
In broad terms, this means that $111.8 billion in pacts with television partners signed this year would rather effortlessly disguise short-term losses if the team were to hit the open market.
Forbes also estimated that even more gains could be on the horizon as the league ponders going into business with banks and sovereign wealth funds in the coming years.
“Lots of league assets could be leveraged up with outside money,” one team owner told the publication.
Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24.
First Published: August 9, 2021, 3:36 p.m.
