Last year, Forbes estimated that the San Francisco 49ers stood to lose out on $208 million in stadium revenue due to the pandemic. The team didn't host any fans at Levi's Stadium and had to move to Arizona at the end of the season due to safety restrictions in Santa Clara County. The estimate was based on losses expected from the lack of ticket sales, concessions, parking, and other revenue streams.
While the losses didn't end up being as impactful as Forbes' estimates, the 49ers did have losses in operating income totaling $45.4 million. The good news is that the losses didn't negatively impact the team's value, which comes in at $4.175 billion in Forbes' estimates. That's a 10 percent increase over the $3.8 billion valuation from a year ago.
The estimated value is good enough to rank the Niners as the sixth-most valuable in the NFL, behind only the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Los Angeles Rams, and Washington Football Team. San Francisco is one of 20 NFL teams with an operating costs loss over the last year. By comparison, the 49ers had a positive net operating income of $121 million in 2019.
Of course, that's just taking into account the net operating income. The actual net income of the team could be higher.
For example, Mike Ozanian and Christina Settimi of Forbes reported that "For the 2020 season, the [Green Bay Packers] reported an operating loss (including depreciation) of $38.8 million but net income of $60.7 million thanks to $120 million in mostly unrealized investment gains."
Not only are the Cowboys the most valuable NFL franchise with an estimated worth of $6.5 billion, but they are regularly the most valuable sports team in the world. Dallas reportedly still hauled in $280.4 million in net operating income despite operating limitations in 2020. Unlike the 49ers, the Cowboys were able to host some fans last season in a limited capacity. However, their net operating income is still a significant drop from the $425 million earned in 2019 but still the most among all NFL teams by a margin of $138 million.
Across the league, the NFL's 32 teams are worth 14 percent more than last year on average despite the league seeing a 20 percent drop in revenue as a whole. A new $112.6 billion media rights deal, including ESPN's extension, played a big part in that.
The NFL's rising net worth drew criticism from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who is disappointed in the way the NFL dealt with player salaries during the pandemic.
"The salary cap dropped by 20% and the new media deals were announced the day AFTER 2021 salary cap was set," Brady wrote via Instagram. "NFL players better wake up @nflpa. NFL players are IGNORANT."
