Jacksonville Jaguars, Shad Khan Says NFL Teams Remain Undervalued

Summary

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan said NFL teams remained undervalued relative to teams in other professional sports leagues in a CNBC article published on September 9, 2026. For investors assessing sports assets, CNBC’s figures point to a market in which transaction multiples have expanded alongside team valuations, but they do not establish that the same appreciation will continue.

CNBC valued the Jacksonville Jaguars at $9.35 billion in 2026 after Khan paid $770 million for the team in 2011, calculating an 18% annualized return. CNBC also reported that the average NFL team was worth $10.36 billion in 2026, a 35% year-over-year increase.

Shad Khan’s NFL Valuation Argument

Khan’s argument is direct: despite the rise already recorded in franchise prices, he believes the NFL remains inexpensive compared with other professional sports leagues. “I think the run-up for NFL is almost endless,” Khan told CNBC, which also quoted him saying that the larger story was the league’s continued undervaluation.

An NFL team valuation is the estimated worth of a franchise, while a sale-price-to-revenue multiple compares the price paid for a team with its revenue. According to CNBC’s figures, the crucial signal is not merely that sale prices increased; buyers also accepted progressively higher revenue multiples in the reported transactions.

That distinction matters because a higher price alone can accompany higher revenue, whereas a rising multiple indicates that buyers are assigning more value to each unit of revenue. In an interpretation limited to CNBC’s data, the sequence from the Denver Broncos to the Washington Commanders and then the Seattle Seahawks shows buyers paying increasingly rich multiples for NFL ownership.

From the Broncos to the Seahawks: Multiples Expanded

CNBC reported that the Denver Broncos sold at approximately nine times revenue in 2022. The Washington Commanders then sold for $6.05 billion in 2023, a price 30% above the Denver Broncos sale, and their transaction multiple was approximately 11 times revenue, according to CNBC.

The Seattle Seahawks sale was reported by CNBC as an NFL record $9.61 billion in 2026. That price was 59% higher than the Washington Commanders sale in 2023, while the Seahawks’ sale-price-to-revenue multiple exceeded 14 times revenue in 2026, according to CNBC.

Read together, CNBC’s reported multiples moved from approximately nine times revenue for the Denver Broncos in 2022 to approximately 11 times for the Washington Commanders in 2023 and more than 14 times for the Seattle Seahawks in 2026. According to CNBC’s evidence, this progression supports Khan’s valuation thesis, but it cannot prove that the next transaction will command a still-higher multiple.

The Los Angeles Lakers Comparison Sets the Tension

CNBC reported that Mark Walter wants to sell the Los Angeles Lakers to Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger for $12.5 billion, equivalent to approximately 20 times revenue. The exact date of that proposed sale was not provided, and whether the transaction will occur is not established.

According to CNBC, the NFL is more profitable than the NBA and dominates television ratings. In CNBC’s framing, the contrast between a reported NFL record above 14 times revenue and the Lakers proposal at approximately 20 times revenue is the basis for Khan’s claim that NFL teams remain undervalued relative to other professional sports assets.

The comparison is suggestive rather than conclusive. According to CNBC’s data, the Lakers figure describes a proposed transaction, while the Seahawks figure describes a reported sale; treating the two as equivalent would erase the difference between an intended price and a completed outcome.

The Jaguars’ $9.35 Billion Case—and Its Limit

CNBC reported that Khan paid $770 million for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011 and valued the franchise at $9.35 billion in 2026. CNBC calculated that change as an 18% annualized return through 2026, making the Jaguars the clearest illustration in the supplied figures of how dramatically NFL ownership values have risen.

CNBC projected that the Jacksonville Jaguars could be worth $112 billion in 2041 if their value continued appreciating at the same 18% annualized rate. That $112 billion figure is a conditional projection, not an established future valuation, and the available evidence does not show that the historical rate will persist.

For investors, the distinction between an estimate, a sale price and a projection is essential. According to CNBC, $9.35 billion is its 2026 Jaguars valuation, $9.61 billion is the reported 2026 Seahawks sale price, and $112 billion is a conditional 2041 projection; those figures measure different things and should not be treated as interchangeable.

Structural Support for NFL Franchise Values

CNBC reported that approximately one-third of NFL teams are adding new stadiums or carrying out major renovations. According to CNBC’s interpretation, those projects are driving revenue growth, which provides one potential support for franchise values beyond buyers simply agreeing to pay higher multiples.

International expansion supplies another checkpoint. CNBC reported that the NFL has a record nine international games this season and plans 10 international games in 2027. In CNBC’s framing, the larger schedule reflects continued efforts to build the league’s brand outside the United States, although the supplied facts do not quantify the resulting revenue or valuation impact.

The evidence therefore separates into two layers. CNBC reports stadium activity and additional international games as potential revenue support, while its transaction figures show buyers paying higher revenue multiples; the first concerns the business base, and the second concerns the price assigned to that base.

Stock & Sector Ripple

• Professional sports assets: According to CNBC’s figures, the rise in NFL sale-price-to-revenue multiples strengthens the valuation case for scarce sports franchises, but the supplied facts identify no directly listed team owner whose stock can be analyzed.
• NFL franchise valuations: CNBC’s 2026 average NFL team value of $10.36 billion, up 35% year over year, indicates positive valuation direction across the league rather than only at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Sports media economics: CNBC described the NFL as dominating television ratings and being more profitable than the NBA. The fact sheet does not identify any listed media company or quantify revenue exposure, so no stock-specific conclusion is supportable.
• Stadium investment: CNBC reported that approximately one-third of NFL teams are adding or renovating stadiums and linked that activity to revenue growth. No project costs, completion schedules or listed beneficiaries are supplied, preventing a company-level read-through.

Bull vs Bear Scenarios

Bull case: According to CNBC’s evidence, the average NFL team reached $10.36 billion in 2026 after a 35% year-over-year increase, while reported transaction multiples advanced from approximately nine times revenue in 2022 to more than 14 times revenue in 2026. If future transactions preserve that appetite and team revenue receives support from stadium projects and international expansion, Khan’s undervaluation argument could remain credible.

Bear case: The same data show that buyers are already paying substantially more for each unit of revenue. According to CNBC’s figures, extrapolating the Jaguars’ 18% annualized return produces a conditional $112 billion valuation in 2041, but neither that outcome nor continued multiple expansion is established.

The central risk is therefore embedded in the thesis itself. CNBC’s record sale and rising multiples support the claim that demand for NFL ownership has been strong, yet those higher starting valuations also raise the standard that future revenue growth or future transactions would need to validate.

Investor Action Points

• Track the next NFL transaction: Compare its sale-price-to-revenue multiple with the Seattle Seahawks’ more-than-14-times-revenue multiple reported by CNBC for 2026.
• Separate proposals from completed sales: Treat the Los Angeles Lakers’ proposed $12.5 billion price at approximately 20 times revenue as a comparison point, not a confirmed transaction.
• Check the 2027 international schedule: CNBC reported 10 NFL international games for 2027, following a record nine this season; the supplied facts do not yet quantify their financial contribution.
• Test stadium investment against revenue: CNBC linked projects at approximately one-third of NFL teams with revenue growth, making actual revenue development the relevant confirmation rather than project announcements alone.

This article was independently written by OneDayTrading from public reporting. Read the original (CNBC)