Forbes: Jaguars 'Least Valuable NFL Franchise', But Bigger Picture Shows Promise

Along with the well written cover story on Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan from Forbes Magazine, the respected financial/business site has put out it's annual list of the National Football League franchise's net worth, as well as other annual financial information made available to the publication.

As was the case in 2011, the Jaguars ranked as the NFL's least valuable of the 32 franchises, coming in at a current value of $770 million, which is the price Shad Khan purchased the team for in January. The team trails only slightly behind the St. Louis Rams ($280 million), Oakland Raiders ($785 million), Buffalo Bills ($805 million), and the Atlanta Falcons ($837 million) in the bottom five franchises.

While some may see the report as yet another, "Sky is falling!/Move the team!" moment, to read through the financial report further shows a slightly more positive review.

According to Forbes, the team ranked 13th in "1-Year Value Change %", or the increase in value of the franchise over this time last year. The Jaguars finished in this category with a 6% boost in value of the franchise, from September 2011. To put that in perspective, there were twelve franchises that listed as having a value growth of 0-3%, at least half or less than that of the Jaguars. Those franchises included the likes of the Cincinnati Bengals (0 growth), New Orleans Saints (1%), Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals (2%), and the Washington Redskins (3%). While the numbers may seem minimal, to be in the upper half of the league in growing value of franchises is a strong positive for a franchise viewed nationally and at times locally, as declining in worth.

Perhaps the most promising of all the financial information released by the magazine, was the Jaguars showing a revenue intake over the past year of $238 million. While that number wasn't in the ranks of the Cowboys ($500 million) or Patriots ($380 million), it was not far off from the middle of the pack franchises that reside in much larger markets. The Jaguars also took in more revenue, than the Bengals ($235 million), Rams ($231 million), Detroit Lions ($231 million), Minnesota Vikings ($227 million), and Oakland Raiders ($226 million). The team was essentially tied with the Falcons, who brought in $239 million last year.

While there is certainly still a lot of work to do to get this franchise into a place where it is no longer used as a throw in for relocation talk, be it Los Angeles or overseas, the numbers here clearly disprove several myths that are haphazardly tossed around in the media and fan bases, when it comes to the financial stability of the Jaguars in Jacksonville.